Nikola Jokic keeps breaking insane Wilt Chamberlain records

There were a lot of people who believed that Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic should have won the NBA MVP award for a third consecutive season. But, voting didn’t go his way this year as it was Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid that took home the award.

After the announcement of the MVP, Jokic wasted no time in reminding people why he was making such a strong case to join Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird as the only players to win it three consecutive years. He was a one-man wrecking crew in Game 5 of the Nuggets’ Western Conference semifinal against the Phoenix Suns.

Jokic scored 29 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 12 assists. It was his fourth triple-double of this year’s playoffs and 10th of his career, which is another record he has taken down. He surpassed Chamberlain’s record for triple-doubles in the playoffs by a center.

“Again?” Nuggets coach Mike Malone asked. “Making a habit of this. Must be stat-padding.”

Jokic has been dominant for the Nuggets all postseason after another MVP-caliber regular season. Denver is a legitimate title contender with him as the centerpiece and winning is all he cares about. While holding an individual record is nice, Jokic prefers his team to get a win.

“I mean, to be honest, I just like to win the game,” Jokic said of whether he prefers trying to beat a team with a triple-double or scoring. “So whatever it takes. I open the game today, I think really badly, maybe I was forcing it.

“And then I just slow it down, relax and let the game come to me. It’ll come to me and that happens.”

He has certainly succeeded in that second part, as the game comes to him with ease on a nightly basis. His presence makes things much easier for his teammates, who have stepped up regularly this postseason and have the team only one win away from a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

“He’s a guy that literally will just read the game and take what the game offers,” Malone said. “And in this series, everyone’s talking about Devin Booker, rightfully so. The performances he’s put on in the first round against the Clippers, against us, have been just spectacular. But I think sometimes we maybe take Nikola for granted because what he is doing is just incredible.

“He makes everyone around him better. Never gets rattled. ‘Cool Hand Luke.’ And we’re just so thankful that he’s a Denver Nugget.”

Depending on what is needed that night is what Jokic provides. If the Nuggets need him to score, as they did in Game 4 against the Suns, he is more than capable of it. While Denver fell just short, losing 129-124, Jokic poured in 53 points.

If the team needs more of his playmaking, he excels in doing that also. He has recorded at least 11 assists in three straight games and 10.0 per game against the Suns and 9.5 overall in the postseason, which would be a career-high.

He is bringing it on the glass every night, averaging 13.1 rebounds per game this postseason and 13.8 per game against the Suns. Jokic is playing at a very high level and despite not winning the MVP, this could be his best chance to lead the Nuggets to a title in his career.