Honestly, it’s getting hard to find new ways to talk about Nikola Jokic without sounding like a broken record or a frantic Denver Nuggets fan who hasn’t slept in three days. But here we are in January 2026, and the numbers he was putting up before he went down with that knee injury are—to put it bluntly—absolutely stupid.
We’re talking about a guy who was basically averaging a 30-point triple-double. Not "kinda" or "almost." Literally.
Before hyperextending his left knee on December 29 against Miami, the Nikola Jokic stats per game for the 2025-26 season were sitting at 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 11.0 assists.
If you’ve been following the NBA for a minute, you know that Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook are the only other humans to ever average a triple-double over a full season. But Jokic isn't doing this with the frantic, high-octane energy of Russ. He’s doing it while looking like a guy who’s just trying to find a good parking spot at the grocery store.
The 56-Point Masterclass that Reset the Record Books
The pinnacle of this season happened on Christmas Day 2025. While most of us were crashing from a turkey coma, Jokic was in the middle of a 142-138 overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He finished that game with 56 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists.
It was the first stat line of its kind in the history of the league. Nobody had ever gone 55/15/15. Ever. He was 15-of-21 from the floor and a nearly perfect 22-of-23 from the free-throw line. If you want to know why the Nikola Jokic stats per game look the way they do, it's because of nights like that where he simply decides the opposing team isn't allowed to win.
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But statistics are weird. You can’t just look at the raw totals and get the full story.
Why the Efficiency is Actually Scarier than the Triple-Double
Most high-volume scorers see their efficiency tank when they take more shots. Not Jokic. This year, his true shooting percentage was hovering around 71.3%.
Think about that for a second.
He's taking more three-pointers than ever before (4.7 attempts per game) and hitting them at a career-high clip of 41.7% (though some sources have him as high as 44% depending on the week). Usually, when a center starts shooting more from the outside, their rebounding numbers or their paint dominance drops. Instead, Jokic is leading the league in both rebounds and assists simultaneously.
The On-Off Split: A Statistical Horror Story
If you want to see how much one person can carry a franchise, look at the Nuggets' offensive rating when the Big Honey is on the bench.
- With Jokic: 127.9 Offensive Rating (Would be the best in NBA history)
- Without Jokic: 88.29 Offensive Rating (Would be the worst in NBA history)
It’s basically the difference between the 2017 Warriors and a high school JV team. The drop-off is roughly 40 points per 100 possessions.
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Critics like to say these "on-off" stats are misleading because of bench rotations or coaching styles, and they’ve got a point. Nuggets coach Michael Malone tends to play heavy "all-bench" units that struggle to create their own shots. But even with that caveat, a 40-point swing is unprecedented. It’s why he’s been first or second in the MVP race for five straight years.
Can He Still Win MVP in 2026?
This is the big question right now. Because of the NBA’s 65-game rule, Jokic is on a ticking clock. Having been sidelined since late December, he can only miss a few more games before he’s disqualified from major awards.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is currently the betting favorite because he’s actually, you know, playing. Luka Doncic is also in the mix, leading the league in scoring. But if you look at the Nikola Jokic stats per game, there’s a legitimate argument that he’s having the greatest individual season we’ve seen in the modern era.
Luka is a walking triple-double, sure, but his efficiency and turnover rate don't touch Jokic's. SGA is a master of the mid-range and a defensive pest, but he doesn't control the geometry of the entire court like a 7-foot Serbian savant.
The Career Context
To understand the 2026 numbers, you have to look at the trajectory.
- The Early Years: He started at 10.0 PPG as a rookie.
- The Leap: By 2020, he was a 26/10/8 guy.
- The Current Peak: He's now consistently pushing 30/12/11.
His career averages are currently sitting at 22.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 7.4 assists. Those numbers are dragged down by his first two seasons where he wasn't even a full-time starter. If you only look at his "Prime" years (2020-present), he's effectively a 27/12/9 player.
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What This Means for Your Fantasy Team (and Your Sanity)
If you're looking for actionable takeaways from the current Jokic era, here’s the reality:
Don't wait for a regression that isn't coming. People have been waiting for Jokic's shooting to "cool off" for four seasons. It hasn't. He has "solved" basketball. He knows exactly where the double team is coming from before the defender even leaves his man.
Watch the "touches" stat. Jokic usually leads the league in touches per game (often over 100). If you see that number drop, that's the only time the Nuggets are in trouble.
Monitor the return date. Reports suggest a late January or early February return. If he hits the ground running and the Nuggets climb back to the top of the West, the MVP race is going to get very toxic, very fast.
The Nikola Jokic stats per game aren't just numbers on a screen; they are a daily reminder that we are watching a top-10 player of all time in his absolute physical and mental prime. Whether he gets that fourth MVP trophy or not, the 2025-26 season has already secured its place in the history books.
If you’re tracking his return, keep a close eye on the Denver injury reports over the next ten days. The 65-game eligibility window is closing, and every missed game from here on out makes it harder for him to catch Shai or Luka in the standings. Once he’s back, expect a slight dip in minutes initially, but his playmaking should remain elite from day one.