The Denver Nuggets picked up a huge 126-115 win at home on Thursday night against the Orlando Magic, despite being severely shorthanded. The Nuggets played without Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Peyton Watson, taking away three of their best defenders, but still managed to pull out a win.
Of course, even while shorthanded, much of Denver’s success can be attributed to two people: Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. The star duo combined for 55 points in the win, while Jokic particularly shined with a dominant triple-double, dropping 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists.
With Jokic’s 13-assist performance, he has officially passed NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most career assists by a center in league history with 5,663 and counting.
Nikola Jokic is the best passing center in NBA history
If it was not already made clear, Jokic is undoubtedly the best passing big man the league has ever seen. Abdul-Jabbar held the record for most career assists by a center in league history for a very long time, as he recorded 5,660 through 1,560 games. However, Jokic surpassed his mark in just 771 games.
Jokic is the only center in NBA history to even reach 3,000+ career assists while playing 800 or fewer games, as he is legitimately in a tier of his own.