Jokić historic stat

Nikola Jokić closed the regular season leading the National Basketball Association in both rebounds and assists per game, a combination no player had finished with since 1969-70. (basketball-reference.com) Basketball-Reference lists Jokić at 12.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists per game for the 2025-26 season, with Denver finishing 54-28. ESPN’s season page lists him at 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists, but both leaderboards show him first in each category. (basketball-reference.com) (espn.com) The last season cited in the record books is 1969-70, when Elvin Hayes led the league in rebounds per game at 16.9 and Lenny Wilkens led in assists per game at 9.1. Basketball-Reference’s league leaders page shows no player from that season topping both lists. (basketball-reference.com) Rebounds usually belong to centers and assists usually belong to guards, which is why the overlap is so rare on a per-game leaderboard. Jokić, Denver’s 6-foot-11 center, spent the season doing both jobs at once. (espn.com) (basketball-reference.com) The timing adds to the attention. The regular season ended Sunday, April 12, and the National Basketball Association play-in tournament runs April 14-17 before the playoffs open April 18. (nba.com) Denver enters that bracket as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference at 54-28, and the league schedule lists Nuggets-Timberwolves as a first-round series starting April 18. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Jokić also finished first in total assists with 696, while Karl-Anthony Towns led total rebounds with 879. The split shows how rate stats and season totals can point to different leaders when players log different numbers of games. (basketball-reference.com) His season page also shows 27.7 points per game and a 56.9 field-goal percentage, putting the rebounding and playmaking marks alongside elite scoring efficiency. Those numbers came from a player listed by ESPN as a center, not a point guard. (espn.com) As the postseason starts this week, the stat line that set Jokić apart in the regular season is the same one Denver will keep leaning on: its center as primary rebounder and primary passer. (basketball-reference.com) (nba.com)