Nikola Jokić has spent the better part of a decade leaving basketball analysts short of superlatives. With three games left in the regular season, he has given them another reason to reach for new ones.
A stat surfaced Wednesday that captured just how historically unprecedented his 2025-26 season has been, and the basketball world could not stop talking about it.
Why Is Nikola Jokić Not Favored To Win MVP Despite Historic Stats? NBA World Reacts
The conversation was sparked by ESPN Insights, which posted a graphic that brought the basketball world to a halt.
“Nikola Jokić is on the verge of something the NBA has never seen,” the outlet wrote. “With 3 games left, he leads the league in BOTH rebounds and assists per game. No player in NBA history has ever led both categories… even across different seasons.”
Nikola Jokic is on the verge of something the NBA has never seen 👀
With 3 games left, he leads the league in BOTH rebounds and assists per game 🤯
No player in NBA history has ever led both categories… even across different seasons. pic.twitter.com/ndkKKfZxQq
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 8, 2026
Jokić is currently averaging 12.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game, leading the league in both categories, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Cade Cunningham each a full rebound and assist behind him, respectively.
The reactions were immediate and unsparing in their admiration.
Basketball coach for the Margrath Zeniths, Chris Steed, reshared the ESPN Insights post, offering the sharpest assessment of all.
“Annual WTF stat from Jokić,” Steed wrote. “It is a line that doubles as an entire career summary.”
Annual WTF stat from Jokic. https://t.co/BU2MElt6WK
— Chris Steed (@steeder10) April 8, 2026
Hoops Will cut straight to the MVP argument the stat implied.
“Jokić is so clearly the most valuable player in the league… but he doesn’t have Sam Presti building his roster, so here we are,” the outlet wrote.
This marked a pointed reference to the narrative advantage Shai Gilgeous-Alexander holds by playing for the league’s best team.
Jokic is so clearly the most valuable player in the league… but he doesn’t have Sam Presti building his roster, so here we are https://t.co/n9eZ8tF29O
— HoopsWill (@HoopsWill) April 8, 2026
Yardbarker’s senior NBA and NFL writer Ernesto Cova went even further.
“How is he not the most obvious MVP in sports history?” Cova asked. It was a question that, given the numbers, felt less hyperbolic than it might have a year ago.
How is he not the most obvious MVP in sports history? https://t.co/Hj6GTse7XQ
— Ernesto Cova (@ejcovap) April 8, 2026
Essentially Sports shared a fitting quote from Paul Pierce, alongside a graphic showing Jokić’s current averages: 28.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 10.9 assists, 56.8% field-goal percentage, and 38.0% 3-point shooting.
They posted Pierce’s words: “We’re never going to see a season like this again from no one else ever in the history of the game.”
.@paulpierce34 was right pic.twitter.com/lbqQ05uJBb
— EssentiallySports (@ES_sportsnews) April 8, 2026
The numbers next to the quote made the case without requiring anything further.
What Jokić Is Actually Doing, and What It Means for the MVP Race
The historical weight of what Jokić is chasing is difficult to overstate. No player in NBA history, not Wilt Chamberlain, not Russell Westbrook at his statistical peak, not Oscar Robertson, has ever led the league in both rebounds and assists per game across a full season.
Jokić is on the verge of being the first. He is doing it while simultaneously averaging 28 points a night on 66.9% true shooting, the highest mark among all players averaging at least 20 points.
The Denver Nuggets have also gone on a nine-game winning streak with Jokić leading the way, and yet, heading into the season’s stretch run, Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama remain the betting favorites for the award.
If Jokić closes the season leading the league in rebounds and assists, a combination no player has achieved in the modern era, the conversation around what constitutes “most valuable” may need to be revisited one more time.
