Nikola Jokic Joins Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor in Exclusive Triple Double Club
Last night, reigning two-time NBA regular season MVP Nikola Jokic put up a stat line for the ages as his Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 119-115: 40 points, 27 rebounds, 10 assists. How rare is that trifecta? Only two other players in NBA history have posted at least 40 points, at least 25 rebounds, and at least 10 assists in a game: Wilt Chamberlain (four times), and Elgin Baylor (one time). Baylor is perhaps the most underrated great player of all-time. Chamberlain last played in the NBA in 1973, and he passed away in 1999, but his name appears in NBA highlight reels and game recaps on a regular basis, because almost every time a player does something great it turns out that Chamberlain was the last player to do it--and he usually did it more often than anyone else, if not more often than everyone else put together, as is the case with 40-25-10 triple doubles.
In Wait Till Next Year, William Goldman wrote about Chamberlain's incredible statistical dominance:
During Michael Jordan's amazing '86-'87, Wilt was always in the papers because Jordan was always scoring the most this's since Wilt Chamberlain or taking the most that's since Wilt Chamberlain. And that ain't gonna change, folks. Not in this century. Take big-scoring games, for example. Michael Jordan hit 60 points, twice last year. In the eighties, only two other men have done it, each once: Bernard King and Larry Bird. Four times this decade. Seven other guys did it once: Fulks (the first), Mikan, Gervin, West, Barry, Maravich and David "oh-what-a-fall-was-there-" Thompson. Elgin Baylor did it thrice. And Wilt? Well, it's been done 46 times so you subtract. Wilt: 32. The rest of basketball: 14. At the present rate, we will be well into the twenty-first century before the NBA catches up.
Goldman's prediction was prescient, as the rest of the NBA did not pass Chamberlain's total of 60 point games until well into this century. Chamberlain holds many records that will likely stand forever, including most points in a game (100), most points in a season (4029; Chamberlain has the top two highest scoring seasons, and four of the top five), most career rebounds (23,924), most rebounds in a season (2149; Chamberlain holds the top seven spots), and most rebounds in a game (55).
The most recent 40-25-10 game prior to Jokic's was Chamberlain's 53-32-14 masterpiece as his Philadelphia 76ers defeated the L.A. Lakers, 158-128. Back then, "load management" may have referred to how the team's equipment was packed on a bus, train, or airplane, but it had nothing to do with playing time: even in a blowout, Chamberlain played all 48 minutes, his teammate Hal Greer logged 38 minutes, and nine other players from the two teams played at least 28 minutes each. That game was Chamberlain's seventh consecutive triple double as he finished the 1967-68 season with nine straight triple doubles; in the previous game, he logged 35-15-10 in 46 minutes, and in the next game he had 22-27-19 in 53 minutes.
1) The basketball "GOAT" (Greatest of All-Time") conversation in most mainstream media outlets is ridiculous because it is devoid of historical context. The oft-propagated notion that only two players can even be considered--Michael Jordan and LeBron James--is silly for many reasons, not the least of which is that James has not surpassed his contemporary Kobe Bryant, which should be a prerequisite before being compared to Jordan, whose individual and team accomplishments surpass those of both Bryant and James.
In a team sport, the number of championships an individual player wins is determined not solely by his greatness, but also by the quality of his teammates, the quality of competition during his era, and other factors beyond his control. That is not to say that championships don't matter, but if championships won is the main factor then the basketball GOAT is Bill Russell, who won more NBA titles (11 in 13 seasons) than Jordan and James combined (10). The fact that Russell is seldom mentioned now in the GOAT conversation demonstrates that championships are not the main factor being considered.
If championships are not the main factor, then one must look at skill set, and individual dominance. Wilt Chamberlain had sprinter's speed, incredible leaping ability, and superhuman strength/endurance. Other than free throw shooting, he had a complete skill set: scoring, rebounding, passing, defense. On what basis should we accept on faith that LeBron James (or anyone else, for that matter) is better than Chamberlain? Chamberlain at least has to be in the GOAT conversation--he cannot reasonably just be counted out without discussion.
Turning back to championships for a moment, for most of his career Chamberlain was not blessed with the same caliber of teammates or coaching that his rival Russell had, but Chamberlain was the key performer on the two most successful single season teams up to that point: the 1967 76ers, and the 1972 Lakers, both of whom won the NBA championship. Chamberlain was the 1972 Finals MVP, and he undoubtedly would have been the 1967 Finals MVP had the award existed at that time. Considering who Chamberlain played with and against, his two championships in 13 seasons in a smaller, more competitive league are arguably no less impressive than James' four NBA championships spread out over 20 seasons in a sprawling 30 team league.
2) Even though Jokic has won back to back regular season MVPs, he is probably underrated, at least in terms of how he is characterized and described by the major media outlets that cover the NBA. Whenever there is a conversation about who is the best player in the game today, we hear (in alphabetical order) the following names: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James. If Jokic is mentioned at all, it is usually as an afterthought--but Jokic is a dominant scorer, rebounder, and passer. He may not fly through the air for exciting dunks, or regularly bomb away from three point range, but his impact is undeniable, as can be seen by even a cursory examination of his team's performance with him versus his team's performance without him: when Jokic is on the court, the Nuggets perform at a championship caliber level, but when he is not on the court the Nuggets perform like a Draft Lottery team. Jokic is a better and more impactful basketball player than many of the players selected to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, including but not limited to active players such as Anthony Davis, James Harden, and Damian Lillard.
Labels: Elgin Baylor, Nikola Jokic, Wilt Chamberlain
posted by David Friedman @ 8:42 PM
