{"id":372663,"date":"2025-12-26T08:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T08:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/372663\/"},"modified":"2025-12-26T08:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T08:59:08","slug":"nikola-jokics-56-point-monster-triple-double-is-the-best-performance-on-christmas-day-in-nba-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/372663\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Jokic’s 56-Point Monster Triple-Double Is The Best Performance On Christmas Day In NBA History"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s iteration of the Christmas Day games was packed with action. Although the occasion featured some of the NBA\u2019s best players, Denver Nuggets<\/a> superstar Nikola Jokic<\/a> set himself apart with a truly historic display.<\/p>\n

In the process of leading the Nuggets to a 142-138 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, Nikola Jokic recorded a monster triple-double of 56 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists. He shot 15-of-21 from the field (71.4%), 4-of-6 from beyond the arc (66.7%), and was also near-perfect from the charity stripe, going 22-of-23 (95.7%).<\/p>\n

In 43 minutes of action, Nikola Jokic recorded 5 turnovers, an inevitability given his high usage rate. But when factoring in his shooting splits for the game, his unreal efficiency continues to defy expectations.<\/p>\n

With this showing, Jokic remains one of only 10 players in NBA history to record a triple-double on Christmas Day. When also considering that he joins Russell Westbrook<\/a> and Oscar Robertson<\/a> as one of the three players to notch multiple such performances on this day, the Nuggets\u2019 superstar continues to impress.<\/p>\n

In the context of triple-doubles on Christmas Day, however, it would not be outrageous to claim that Nikola Jokic\u2019s display stands above the others. To further understand how truly dominant he was, here are the top 5 single-game triple-double performances recorded on Christmas Day:<\/p>\n

1. Nikola Jokic \u2013 56 points, 16 rebounds, 15 assists (Dec. 25, 2025. Nuggets beat Wolves 142-138.)<\/p>\n

2. Nikola Jokic \u2013 41 points, 15 rebounds, 15 assists (Dec. 25, 2022. Nuggets beat Suns 128-125.)<\/p>\n

3. Oscar Robertson \u2013 40 points, 12 rebounds, 17 assists (Dec. 25, 1961. Royals lose to Lakers 141-127.)<\/p>\n

4. Oscar Robertson \u2013 37 points, 15 rebounds, 16 assists (Dec. 25, 1963. Royals beat Hawks 113-107.)<\/p>\n

5. James Harden \u2013 36 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists (Dec. 25, 2021. Nets beat Lakers 122-115.)<\/p>\n

While players like Austin Reaves<\/a> and LeBron James<\/a> have also logged impressive triple-doubles on Christmas Day, these five, in particular, are in a league of their own.<\/p>\n

Nikola Jokic\u2019s performance is also a personal best from a scoring perspective. Given that his previous highest-scoring game on Christmas Day was a 41-point performance against the Suns, Jokic has smashed his own records, a testament to how dominant he has been this season.<\/p>\n

In the context of Christmas, however, Jokic also finds himself earning a spot on another historic list. With 56 points, the Nuggets center now finds himself in third place for the most points scored in a single Christmas Day game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Top 10 Single-Game Scoring Performances On Christmas Day<\/p>\n

1. Bernard King \u2013 60 points (1984)<\/p>\n

2. Wilt Chamberlain \u2013 59 points (1961)<\/p>\n

3. Nikola Jokic \u2013 56 points (2025)<\/p>\n

4. Luka Doncic \u2013 50 points (2023)<\/p>\n

5. Rick Barry \u2013 50 points (1966)<\/p>\n

6. Jerry West \u2013 47 points (1963)<\/p>\n

7. Tracy McGrady \u2013 46 points (2002)<\/p>\n

8. Wilt Chamberlain \u2013 45 points (1959)<\/p>\n

9. Tom Heinsohn \u2013 45 points (1961)<\/p>\n

10. Dominique Wilkins \u2013 45 points (1987)<\/p>\n

Before this year\u2019s matchup, Jokic\u2019s 41-point outing ranked 21st on this list. It is evident how truly noteworthy his performance last night was, given that he moved past legends like Jerry West<\/a>, Michael Jordan<\/a>, and Kobe Bryant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When also considering that the only active player in the top 10, along with Jokic, is Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic<\/a>, the significance of his showcase is amplified.<\/p>\n

Historic performances aside, Nikola Jokic will be more satisfied with securing a major win over one of the more competitive teams in the league. Having improved to 22-8 on the season, Jokic and the Nuggets will aim to build upon this victory despite recent injury setbacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This year\u2019s iteration of the Christmas Day games was packed with action. Although the occasion featured some of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-372663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}