Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets' Nikola Jokic reaches historic assist milestone

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 12/17/22

Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic accomplished yet another remarkable feat Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the fastest center in NBA history to reach 3,500 assists.

With 7:28 left in the first quarter, Jokic found Bruce Brown for two points and assist No. 3,500.

According to Basketball Reference, Jokic is the eighth center to surpass 3,500 assists and the fastest, topping Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain by a substantial amount. It took Jokic only 552 games to reach the milestone, as opposed to 777 games for Chamberlain.

Jokic's elite passing skills were on full display early on Friday night. He recorded assist No. 3,499 with a sweet dish through a double team to a slashing Aaron Gordon, who slammed down a two-handed dunk.

Nikola Jokic threads a fantastic pass through the double team to Aaron Gordon for the big dunk#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/cSGg4rlr2q
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) December 17, 2022

Since missing three games after entering the NBA COVID-19 health and safety protocols in November, Jokic is averaging 9.2 assists per game to go along with 29.1 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Entering play on Friday night, Jokic ranked fifth in the NBA in assists per game (9.0), behind only Chris Paul (9.1), Trae Young (9.9), Tyrese Haliburton (10.6) and James Harden (10.8).

Through 24 games, the two-time MVP is averaging 24.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 63 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line.

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