Nikola Jokic Emulates Former Nuggets Stars Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson During Win Over Bulls

The Denver Nuggets are not where they would expect themselves to be. They are currently sitting in the seventh spot, after finishing in the Top 3 in the last two seasons. But they would be much worse this season if not for an MVP-worthy campaign from Nikola Jokic.

The Serbian has been tearing it up this season and tonight, he had another monster game. He dropped 39 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists to lead the Nuggets to a six-point win against the Bulls. The game was closer than the Nuggets would have liked, but Jokic did his best to ensure they would walk away with a win.

During this brilliant performance, Jokic had zero points from the three-point range. He joined the likes of former Nuggets stars Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, who achieved similar feats a decade ago. Anthony and Iverson are two of the best scorers of their generation, so Jokic emulating them shows how talented he is.

Nikola Jokic on his way to a historic season

Following tonight’s huge game, Jokic is now averaging 26.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game. This puts him on course to become the first player to average such numbers while shooting at least 55% from the field.

In previous seasons, his 3PT% brought down his field goal%. But this season, he has stepped up with his outside shooting and is averaging a career-best 41%. His points per game have also shot up to 27+ after barely managing 20 points per game just once before.

In the last few years, Jokic has established himself as one of the best playmaking bigs the game has ever seen. Before 2020-21, his previous three seasons ranked as #3 to #5 in most assists per game by a center in a season. The only player he couldn’t overtake was Wilt Chamberlain, whose 8.6 assists per game season is the best ever.

But this season, Jokic is doing his best to surpass Wilt. Currently, he is averaging 8.5 assists per game this season, just 0.1 behind Wilt. If he continues this form, it is likely that he will end up crossing him. That would be the ultimate seal for Jokic’s status as one of the best playmakers in the history of the game, not just among centers, but also overall.