Surprising NBA player breaks 'unbreakable' record for fastest triple-double ever
Unless you are a diehard NBA fan or live in Denver, you’ve probably overlooked the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, who quietly is becoming one of the best young big men in the NBA.
The Serbian-born center, who turns 23 on Feb. 19, sent the Nuggets into the All-Star break not only with a 134-123 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, but with the fastest triple-double in NBA history.
Jokic reached the collection of double-figure counting stats in just his first 14 minutes and 33 seconds out on the floor, breaking a mark that was said to be “unbreakable.”
Nikola Jokic just recorded the fastest triple-double in NBA history (14:33).
Previous record was 17 minutes back in 1955 by Jim Tucker.
— Justin Phan (@jphanned) February 16, 2018
Records are a bit sketchy, but the previous record for fewest minutes played to reach a triple-double belonged to Jim Tucker, who did it way back in 1955. However, since game tracking and play-by-play stats were a middle-aged lifetime away from still being invented, Tucker’s record was as much legend as hard fact.
Any debates are now purely a matter of historical curiosity; Jokic did it with the scrutiny of the internet and the whole world able to watch on League Pass.
Nikola Jokic posts 30 PTS, 17 AST, 15 REB, 2 BLK in a historic night en-route to the @nuggets win!#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/qP1wAQZRqL
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2018
Russell Westbrook had held the previous mark since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data in the 2000-01 season, notching a triple-double after 19 minutes on the floor in a December 2016 game against the Clippers.
Jokic finished the game with 30 points, 15 rebounds, 17 assists … and eight turnovers, but let’s not spoil another great performance with nitpicking over giving the ball away. We have LeBron James’ funky quadruple-double, where he coughed it up 11 times to go with a traditional triple-double against the Pacers back in January, to nitpick over.
Nikola Jokic went off for 30 PTS, 17 AST, 15 REB, 2 BLK to help power the @nuggets to their ninth win in 12 games!#MileHighBasketball 134 / #FearTheDeer 123 pic.twitter.com/4CMVlkXQjU
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2018
Even crazier? Jokic wasn’t the only guy to score 30 points and get a triple-double in the game.
Giannis “Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo of the Bucks scorched the nets for 36 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists of his own.
It was only the third time in NBA history that players on opposing teams scored 30 points apiece in getting a triple-double.
The last time it happened? Try 1965, when Johnny Kerr and Dave DeBusschere pulled it off.
The only other time? The participants were Hall of Famers Richie Guerin and Mr. Triple-Double himself, Oscar Robertson, in 1961.
Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the 3rd opposing players to record 30-point triple-doubles in NBA history per @EliasSports research.
The others were Johnny Kerr & Dave DeBusschere (1965) and Oscar Robertson & Richie Guerin (1961).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 16, 2018
And speaking of elite company, aside from Jokic, only five other guys have ever scored at least 30 points, grabbed at least 15 rebounds and dished at least 15 assists in a game in the history of the league.
You might have heard of some of them; their names are James Harden, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain.
Nikola Jokic joined some pretty elite company Thursday, when he recorded the 17th game in NBA history with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists according to @EliasSports. pic.twitter.com/jWQONSIDEX
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 16, 2018
That’s right. Every other guy to do what Jokic did is either in the Hall of Fame or is well on his way to having a strong case for induction when he hangs up the sneakers.
Oh, and you don’t get 17 assists without your teammates helping out by making the shot when you pass them the ball, and Denver made an out-of-this-world 24 out of 40 three-pointers in the ballgame as well.
Milwaukee made nine. If the Bucks hadn’t gotten a superhuman effort from their own All-Star, they might have lost by 30 or more instead of 11.
In addition to doing it in the fewest minutes played, Jokic also got his triple-double in the fastest time, period, in the past 20 years, reaching the mark with 1:54 to go in the second quarter.
Nikola Jokic reached a triple-double with 1:54 left in the second quarter.
That's the fastest triple-double in the NBA in the past 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/kCy9a03ZGn
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 16, 2018
Jokic isn’t in this year’s All-Star Game. But at just 23, and with the Serbian fast becoming Denver’s worst-kept secret, he won’t be an All-Star snub for much longer.
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