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Historic performance by Jokic leads to hilarious jab at Russell Westbrook

Posted on March 9, 2025 - 12:35 pm by

The triple-double brothers

Denver Nuggets v Indiana Pacers | Dylan Buell/GettyImages

By this point, you’ve likely heard about the record-setting performance by Nikola Jokic on Friday night as the MVP big man became the first player in NBA history to record 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 20+ assists in a game, doing so in a 149-141 overtime victory over Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.

Jokic finished the night with 31 points, 21 rebounds, 22 assists, and 3 steals in 44 minutes. He also set the record for assists by a center in a single game and became the only player to record a separate triple-double in each half of game time.

Aaron Gordon also made his return in this game, which meant a return to the bench for Russell Westbrook. Russ embraced the role, still registering 25 big minutes, scoring 14 points on 6/11 shooting, adding 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Importantly, it felt like Russ was back in a role that should be more comfortable for him, wasn’t forced to play in crunch time, and attempted just two 3-pointers.

At this point in Russ’ career, this is the best situation for him; coming off the bench and getting to run the show and be his usual self in a limited fashion. But, of course, in Westbrook’s prime, he was consistently throwing up stat lines comparable to what Jokic is doing today.

Jokic needles Russ for never putting up 30/20/20 game

After the game, Michael Malone was marveling at the greatness of Jokic and waxing poetic about his brilliant performance. The usually stoic Malone was struggling to hide his joy and appreciation for his superstar player.

He mentioned that he had no idea Jokic was putting up such gaudy stats in the moment, and also that he had no idea that 30/20/20 had never been done before. He then added, “I think I heard Nikola saying to Russ, ‘Russ, you didn’t get 30/20/20 before?”.

It’s a funny quip, but it’s actually perfectly appropriate. Westbrook was able to put up these numbers in his prime and famously once went for 20/20/20. It’s pretty incredible that two of the players with the most prolific triple-double stats in NBA history are now teammates. They share so many achievements and distinctions, that it must be cool for them to share a locker room and build a friendship.

These box scores are a thing of the past for Russ, but he can still show glimpses at times. It’s a fun subplot that these triple-double legends are able to play together, and it has to be good for team morale that two future Hall of Famers can share in these experiences and joke around together about their accomplishments.