Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic just recorded his 182nd career triple-double in a
136-120 win over the Chicago Bulls last night. This makes him number two on the
all-time list, passing Oscar Robertson, and sitting just 25 behind Russell Westbrook for
the top spot. This season, he is averaging a triple-double for the second straight year,
and with career averages of 22.1 points, 11 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game, where
does he rank all-time in NBA history?
Basic Stats
Using these basic numbers and comparing him to other players who are frequently
mentioned in the top five ever, Jokic stacks up extremely well. Michael Jordan was a
better scorer, with a career average of 30.1 points per game, but falls well short in
rebounds and assists (6.2 and 5.3). Larry Bird might be the best comp, with career
averages of 24.3, 10.0, and 6.3, respectively.
Bird’s playing style is also similar to Jokic’s, being a tall player who dominates the high
post with scoring and assists. Bird was a better three-point shooter, but by the numbers,
not as efficient a scorer, shooting 49.6% from the field (same as Jordan). Jokic shoots
56% from the field. Wilt Chamberlain is the only all-time NBA great who dwarfs Jokic,
with career averages of 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Allegedly, if they
tracked blocks in his day, Chamberlain may have averaged a triple-double for his entire
career.
Advanced Stats
The NBA has a version of baseball’s WAR, and it’s PER (Player Efficiency Rating).
Unlike WAR, which is added season after season, giving players with longer careers
better numbers than more dominant players with shorter careers, PER is an average.
Bird has a 23.5 PER, Jordan is at 27.9, LeBron James sits at 26.8, and Chamberlain
has a career PER of 26.2. Jokic bests them all with a career PER of 28.9.
The highest PER in an NBA season is held by Jokic (35.49), whose name appears four
times in the top 15 seasons ever. Chamberlain is on this list three times, with Jordan
and James both appearing twice.
Win Shares calculates a player’s contribution to every one of his team’s wins. Like
WAR, this stat does accumulate as a career total, but it can be broken down by dividing
the win shares by the number of games played, for a win shares per game rating. It
does not necessarily favor a player whose team has won more games, as Bill Russell
won more games and titles than his arch-rival Chamberlain, but Chamberlain averaged
.237 win shares per game to Russell’s .170. The downside of playing on a super team.
Jordan is just under Wilt, averaging .200 win shares per game, and then Jokic comes in
at .176. This puts the Serbian center ahead of Kareem (.175), LeBron (.172), and Bird
(.163).To make this stat even crazier, basketball-reference breaks it down into win
shares per 48 minutes. Jokic is the NBA’s all-time leader in that category, at .2653. He is
followed by Jordan (.2505), Chamberlain (.2480), and Abdul-Jabbar (.2284).
Is Nikola Jokic A Top 5 NBA Player Ever?
Based on the basic stats, and more so the advanced stats, Jokic has to be mentioned in
the same breath as the greatest players of all-time. He is either near or surpassing all of
them statistically, and he’s only 31 years old. By the end of his career, he may be
averaging a career triple-double, and then the question isn’t whether or not he is a
top-five NBA player ever, it’s “who is the second-best player ever, behind Jokic?”
