Genuine, all-time-great living legends continue to roam the NBA, but their dominant displays are often taken for granted. Unfairly to them, it takes something so special and unprecedented to snap basketball fans out of their misplaced monotony.
The hoops public has increasingly become numb to the superstar superpowers of Nikola Jokic. The Denver Nuggets center is so good that his triple-doubles barely create a ripple in the NBA Twittersphere.
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However, Jokic’s insane stat line on Friday warranted everyone’s undivided attention to take notice, do the requisite double-take and just applaud the most unique skill set ever for a 7-footer.
Jokic made history in Denver’s 149-141 overtime victory against the Phoenix Suns after compiling the first 30-20-20 game in the 79 seasons of the Association — 31 points, 21 rebounds and 22 assists. If you’re not going to appreciate the Joker after this ridiculous performance, you never will.
31 POINTS.
21 REBOUNDS.
22 ASSISTS.THE FIRST-EVER 30+ PT, 20+ REB, 20+ AST GAME IN NBA HISTORY 🚨
NIKOLA JOKIĆ IS TRULY SOMETHING SPECIAL. 🌟 pic.twitter.com/I982bZePiF
— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2025
“I can’t describe him. So don’t ask me to,” Michael Malone told reporters. “The guy is just an incredible player. And when your are one of one in this league and with the tremendous history of this league, that says a lot. And there’s a lot of good players in this league, but Nikola, in my opinion, is just in a class all by himself.”
“I’m actually kind of surprised he hasn’t done this before,” said Suns star Kevin Durant, whose OT-forcing 3-pointer gave Jokic five more minutes to make history. “He’s an all-time great, man. All-time great. … The crazy thing is it didn’t even seem like he had those numbers.”
Kevin Durant on Nikola Jokic’s 30-20-20 game:
“The whole offense is centered around him making a play. I’m actually kind of surprised he hasn’t done this before.”
“All-time great, man. All-time great”
“He gets the ball every play, so the numbers are gonna pile up…” pic.twitter.com/vPy5UQvkt5
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) March 8, 2025
Not surprisingly, Jokic was his usual humble self about his latest achievement. He shrugged it off as just another “really good game.”
When asked what he will tell his grandchildren about the game, Jokic joked, “I would lie. ‘The scorekeepers got it wrong; I had more.'”
It’s no longer true the NBA MVP discussion is an open-and-shut case. What was thought to be a runaway race in favor of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is now a contest again.
That’s right: The three-time MVP is back in contention for a fourth MVP. Maybe NBA fans will finally appreciate just how special the basketball genius of Nikola Jokic really is.
one performance just did this to the MVP odds pic.twitter.com/fZkG1S66IJ
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 8, 2025
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