Nikola Jokić is still rewriting the record books — and treating it like just another day at the office.
In a 149-141 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, the Nuggets’ superstar delivered a stat line the NBA had never seen before: 31 points, 22 assists, and 21 rebounds — the first-ever 30-20-20 game in league history. And yet, when Scott Van Pelt interviewed him postgame, Jokić reacted with all the excitement of a guy discussing his grocery list.
To Jokić’s defense, the Nuggets blew a 21-point lead, but this is also who he’s always been.
This is the same Jokić who looked visibly disinterested at NBA Media Day, but at least Van Pelt managed to hold his attention. As Barstool Sports’ PFT Commenter (Eric Sollenberger) put it, Van Pelt did a “great job” speaking for everyone who had just watched history unfold. But Jokić, in classic Jokić fashion, wasn’t about to turn the moment into anything bigger than it needed to be.
SVP does a great job of speaking for everyone who witnessed history and jokic just want to go to bed pic.twitter.com/9C4iPml6At
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) March 8, 2025
This is the same guy who once deadpanned Charles Barkley after a game-winner. So naturally, he wasn’t about to give SportsCenter’s late-night audience a viral soundbite. He looked less like a guy who had just made history and more like someone ready to collapse into bed.
“What you just did has never been done in the history of the game; your stat line, a 30-20-20 night,” said Van Pelt. “I don’t know if you know that, but I just want to ask you to frame your performance. What did you think of what you did tonight?”
Jokić said a lot of things — none of them particularly interesting. It was the same carefree attitude that J.J. Redick had previously called “BS” on as Van Pelt tried to pry something out of him. Anything resembling an answer acknowledging the absurdity of what he had just accomplished.
“Nikola, it’s a 30-20-20,” said Van Pelt. “No one’s ever done it! I mean, you make it look easy. Tim Legler, who’s calling the game, said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’ I get that this just kinda what you do, but do you appreciate for those of us watching it, we’re just kind of shaking our heads.”
Jokić, once again, gave SVP nothing to work with. He offered something along the lines of how he’ll reflect on it someday — when his career is over, when he’s sitting on the couch thinking about the legacy he left behind. But in the moment, his mind was elsewhere. Specifically, on how he could rest and recover before a 1 p.m. tipoff in Oklahoma City the next day.
By the time the rest of us processed what we had just witnessed, Jokić had already moved on. Because for him, making history is just part of the routine.
