This weekend, Luka Doncic reached the 79th triple-double of his young career, and his second-consecutive one, as the Dallas club extend their current-winning streak to seven matches with their 125-118 victory against the Raptors. With Saturday’s performance, the Slovenian has now moved to the list’s seventh spot.
This means that the guard has surpassed NBA icons like Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden at the age of 25. The next one on the list is none other than his own coach Jason Kidd, who displayed 107 triple-doubles during his 19-year career.
“I guess I’ve got to sit him,” the Mavericks tactician joked after the game, aware that the European star will be hoping to earn his third-straight triple-double during Tuesday night’s NBA Cup matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lead the Western Conference standings.
Every bucket from Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson in the win last night…
They combined for:
79 PTS | 26-50 FG (52%) | 15-31 3PT (48.3%)Scary hours in Dallas. 👀
pic.twitter.com/vjLB0qfNFw— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) December 8, 2024
Just during the first half of their game against Toronto, the Dallas star had already stacked up 15 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. You could tell he was inspired as he drained in a 35-foot shot at the second-quarter buzzer that gave his team a commanding 70-54 lead at the break, plus a no-look, over-the-head assists to Kyrie Irving just minutes before.
“That’s an incredible feat for Luka,” Kidd said of his player moving past legends such as Chamberlain. “When you talk about his skill set, filling up the stat sheet, he’s had two here, he can run them off. We always expect him to have a triple-double, or we sometimes take him for granted for triple-doubles. I think right now you can see that he’s starting to get into a groove.”
However, the Slovenian’s game has been so much more than just scoring, as he even impressed his own head coach with several long-range assists against the Raptors this weekend. Some of them, even came from under his own basket.
“It’s just incredible, the ability, the strength to be able to throw it that far,” the Hall of Famer said about Doncic’s display, which included 30 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals. “He probably could have been a quarterback for the Cowboys.”
Nikola Jokic recently moved up on the triple-double list’s third place, only trailing behind Oscar Robertson and teammate Russell Westbrook
Witnessing the Nuggets star stack up triple-doubles in his career is slowly becoming a tradition now in the NBA, as Nikola Jokic recently recorded his 139th in a 126-114 loss to the Cavaliers this past Thursday night. The star big man has now moved to third place in the all-time historic list.
His climbing of this prestigious ladder means that he’s now moved passed none other than Magic Johnson, one of the greatest players who ever graced the basketball court. The European giant ended last night’s game with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists.
“It’s something that you’re probably going to look at after you finish your career,” said the three-time league MVP as he delivered his ninth triple-double of the present campaign. “Right now, you don’t even think about it. But it’s a great thing. It’s really nice.”
Now Nikola only trails Oscar Robertson’s 181 and his own teammate Russell Westbrook, who leads historically with 200 to his name. Many wonder if he will be able to reach the top, while Hall of Famer Charles Barkley has no doubts. “He’s got another five years,” Barkley said. ”When he gets older, his game is still going to be fine because he’s not the most athletic brother in the world.”
