Nikola Jokic Scores 50 in Historic Performance
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 50 points along with 12 assists in a loss to the Sacramento Kings. He is the first center since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to record at least 50 points and 10 assists in a single game. Despite the historic performance, analysts note Jokic has fallen behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the current MVP race.
- The historic performance occurred on February 6, 2021, in a 119-114 loss to the Sacramento Kings, which completed a season sweep for the Kings over the Nuggets. - In addition to his 50 points and 12 assists, Jokic also recorded eight rebounds and three blocks, shooting 20-for-33 from the field. - His previous career-high was 47 points, a mark he had reached twice, most recently just one week prior in a win against the Utah Jazz. - The Nuggets were significantly undermanned for the game, playing without starters Jamal Murray and Gary Harris, as well as key reserve Facundo Campazzo. - While Jokic dominated, the Kings had a more balanced scoring attack, led by Harrison Barnes with 28 points and rookie Tyrese Haliburton, who scored a season-high 23 points. - This was the first 50-point game by a Nuggets player since Carmelo Anthony; only Anthony and Allen Iverson had accomplished the feat for the franchise in the previous 20 seasons. - Although the card notes his standing in the current 2025-26 MVP race, Jokic would go on to win his first of two consecutive MVP awards for the 2020-21 season in which this 50-point game occurred. - In the current MVP race mentioned, an ESPN straw poll from February 2026 shows Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 78 first-place votes to Jokic's 18, with Jokic's candidacy having been stalled by a bone bruise that sidelined him for nearly a month.
