In helping the Denver Nuggets win their sixth straight game on Thursday night with a 126-115 victory over the Orlando Magic, Nikola Jokić also made NBA history in the process.
Jokić became the league’s all-time leader in assists by a center, surpassing the previous mark of 5,660 held by Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Nuggets superstar entered the day needing six assists to tie Abdul-Jabbar. He finished with 13, along with 23 points and 11 rebounds en route to recording his 13th triple-double of the season.
Jokić said after the game he won’t really think about this latest historic moment until after his career is over.
Perhaps even more remarkable than Jokić surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s record is how much faster he did it. Abdul-Jabbar recorded his 5,660 assists in 1,560 career games over 20 seasons.
Thursday was game No. 771 for Jokić, who is in his 11th season. He averages more than twice as many assists per game (7.4) than Abdul-Jabbar (3.6) did during his legendary career.
Jokić and the Nuggets have now won six straight games, one shy of matching their season-high. They are 20-6 overall and within 4.5 games of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.