Not Luka Doncic or SGA: Nikola Jokic proves once again why he is the best in the world

Nikola Jokic looks destined to battle the world on his own. Part of it is because the Nuggets front office keeps dismantling the roster that won the franchise’s first and only championship in 2023, letting key players walk and dodging extensions to save money. The other part is injuries.

Denver keeps getting hit as if the season has it out for them. The latest blow is Aaron Gordon, who suffered a significant injury right as he was playing some of the best basketball of his career. The forward is expected to miss four to six weeks, leaving the roster stretched thin again. It puts everything back on the Serbian center, who now has to carry the load to keep this team afloat even though Denver has been playing its best basketball since that title run.

Jokic keeps rewriting NBA history

Through all the turnover and setbacks, Jokic keeps doing what only he can do. That includes doing it without Mike Malone, who was surprisingly fired last season right before the playoffs despite being the coach who delivered the championship. Alone at the top of the depth chart and surrounded by a depleted roster, Jokic has not slowed down.

Last season, he averaged a triple-double and became only the third player in league history to do so, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook, who accomplished it four times and is now fighting for minutes with the Kings. Jokic has been even more successful with it than his former teammate, and he is on pace to average another triple-double this year. He leads the league in rebounds and assists. He is shooting better than 40 percent from three. It feels impossible, yet it keeps happening.

Memphis spirals while Morant drama continues

The Nuggets traveled to FedExForum in Memphis to face a Grizzlies team in total freefall, a franchise trying to figure out what to do with Ja Morant. The star guard cannot escape off-court controversy and has stalled in the on-court development everyone once expected. Losses keep piling up. Taylor Jenkins was fired in a move that felt eerily similar to Malone’s situation, and the franchise is dealing with a crisis at every level.

Everything points toward a transition year while the front office looks for a path forward, potentially including a move for Morant. Memphis is overmatched physically, mentally and emotionally in a brutally competitive Western Conference. All they can do is wait and hope the next version of this team is better, because the current one is clearly past its expiration date.

Another Jokic masterclass pushes Denver up the standings

In a matchup where the Nuggets needed to reaffirm their identity and the Grizzlies were desperate for something positive, the better team won. Denver beat Memphis 125-115 behind another dominant Jokic performance. He recorded 17 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists in under 34 minutes, securing his 10th triple-double of the season in just 17 games.

Jamal Murray gave him a major lift with 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including 6-of-9 from three, helping push the Nuggets to 13-9 and second place in the West.

For the injury-riddled Grizzlies, who were without Morant again, Jock Landale posted 26 points and 10 boards, and Spain’s Santi Aldama delivered a solid all-around effort with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Even so, Memphis continues to look like a team in disarray.

And through all the chaos, the same truth emerges. Nikola Jokic is still the best player in the world.

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Memphis Grizzlies

Stats

8 Jaren Jackson Jr.
0 Jaylen Wells
14 Zach Edey
23 Cedric Coward
5 Vince Williams Jr.
7 Santi Aldama
3 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
45 GG Jackson II
46 John Konchar
31 Jock Landale
21 Jahmai Mashack
24 Cam Spencer
18 Olivier-Maxence Prosper

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
8 Jaren Jackson Jr.	28	16	6	2	4	4	3	0	0	1/1	6/8	1/8	0	4	0
0 Jaylen Wells	33	22	5	2	3	3	0	1	0	2/4	4/5	4/8	0	1	0
14 Zach Edey	5	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	1/1	0/0	0	1	0
23 Cedric Coward	26	5	3	0	3	2	1	1	0	0/0	1/2	1/4	0	2	0
5 Vince Williams Jr.	23	6	5	1	4	7	1	1	2	0/0	0/2	2/6	0	1	0
7 Santi Aldama	32	12	6	3	3	6	1	2	2	2/2	5/11	0/5	0	1	0
3 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	21	8	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	2/2	0/1	2/2	0	2	0
45 GG Jackson II	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
46 John Konchar	7	0	2	1	1	2	0	1	0	0/0	0/0	0/2	0	1	0
31 Jock Landale	30	26	10	1	9	2	1	0	0	3/3	7/12	3/6	0	3	0
21 Jahmai Mashack	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
24 Cam Spencer	28	18	2	1	1	4	1	0	0	3/3	3/4	3/6	0	0	0
18 Olivier-Maxence Prosper	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

Denver Nuggets

Stats

21 Spencer Jones
8 Peyton Watson
15 Nikola Jokić
23 Cameron Johnson
27 Jamal Murray
7 Tamar Bates
11 Bruce Brown
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.
14 DaRon Holmes II
1 Curtis Jones
22 Zeke Nnaji
24 Jalen Pickett
5 Hunter Tyson
17 Jonas Valančiūnas

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
21 Spencer Jones	15	0	5	4	1	0	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/2	0	2	0
8 Peyton Watson	32	27	5	2	3	3	1	1	1	0/0	6/10	5/12	0	4	0
15 Nikola Jokić	33	17	10	1	9	16	3	2	0	4/5	2/5	3/4	0	1	0
23 Cameron Johnson	36	18	6	2	4	1	3	1	0	3/3	3/6	3/4	0	3	0
27 Jamal Murray	37	29	3	0	3	8	1	0	0	1/2	5/12	6/9	0	1	0
7 Tamar Bates	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
11 Bruce Brown	28	9	3	1	2	2	2	0	0	2/2	2/6	1/2	0	1	0
10 Tim Hardaway Jr.	27	13	2	1	1	1	0	0	1	1/2	3/3	2/7	0	0	0
14 DaRon Holmes II	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Curtis Jones	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
22 Zeke Nnaji	14	6	6	0	6	0	2	0	1	0/0	0/0	2/3	0	2	0
24 Jalen Pickett	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
5 Hunter Tyson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 Jonas Valančiūnas	14	6	6	3	3	1	1	1	0	0/0	3/6	0/0	0	1	0