Nikola Jokic's arbitrary but amazing achievement

2K + 1K + 500 is CRAZY in historical context.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

Last night, Headband Nikola Jokic became the first player in NBA history to log 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season. And he did it on all-time efficiency.

NBA @NBA

👏 Nikola Jokic receives a standing ovation in Denver after becoming the first player in NBA History with 2K points, 1K rebounds, and 500 assists in a season.

This is one of those statistical achievements that you’ve never heard of until someone does it … but when you think about it and look at the best seasons of legends of the past, it becomes even more impressive.

Here are the players who came closest over the years, with data via Stathead:

• Oscar Robertson was 15 rebounds away from hitting this in 1961-62, which was his triple-double season

• Wilt Chamberlain was eight (!) points away from this in 1967-68 and 44 points away the prior season

• Kevin Garnett came reasonably close four times, the closest in 2002-03 when he was 117 points and five assists away

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only other player to ever make the 1,800-900-400 club, coming closest to the Jokic Line in ‘78-79, short 97 points and 69 assists

Because you might be curious: Russell Westbrook was 136 rebounds short in his 2016-17 MVP season and LeBron James has never had more than 709 rebounds in a season. Magic Johnson never scored 2,000 points in a season and maxed out at 751 rebounds.

Much like Westbrook’s triple-double seasons, a truly amazing achievement. Yes, round numbers are arbitrary. The Big O’s ‘61-62 is no less incredible because he ended up at 985 rebounds instead of 1,000. Wilt’s ‘67-68 is no less amazing because he only got 1,992 points. What these arbitrary achievements allow though is some sense of historical perspective and context. It gives us an easier opportunity to understand the greatness of modern players while honoring the legacy of those geniuses that came before. It’s cool as hell to be able to do that.

So thank you Joker for creating this club.