For the past few years, Nikola Jokic has been the best player in the league. He has won three of the last four MVP awards. This year, he has a chance to be the third player after LeBron James and Bill Russell to win four MVP awards in five years. And yet, even after a historic night, Jokic talks about things like beer and horses. That shows just how unusual a superstar he is.
The Joker Shrugs Off Historic Night With Talk of Beer and Horses
Nikola Jokic delivered the third-ever 60-point triple-double in league history. Sadly, the Denver Nuggets fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a double-overtime.
For his part, Jokic recorded 61 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals. His 61 points were the most by a player in the NBA this season, and the most in a 60-point triple-double. The Joker played 53 minutes, never leaving the game after halftime. He was efficient in doing it, shooting 18-29 from the field and 6-11 from the three-point line.
After the game, however, he talked about his other two hobbies, drinking beer and horses. Asked about reflecting on what he accomplished, he said,
“I think it’s another thing for after sitting on the couch, drinking beer and lying.”
Nikola Jokic is asked to reflect on his historic statline: pic.twitter.com/M3OpWHb2xj
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 2, 2025
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The good news for the Nuggets is Nico Harrison is not running the team, or he might have traded him for that comment. Before that, he had to mention horses. Jokic’s obsession and love for horses is well-documented, and even after a historic night, he continued talking about them. He said,
“We are born for this. We train since we were little. My opinion is that horses are basically like athletes and they’re really similar to us. They have different characters and stuff. Even in a race, there is a different character in horses. They are born to run and we are born to play. They train their whole life to run.”
Nikola Jokic after a career-high 61 points:
“We are born for this. We train since we were little. My opinion is that horses are basically like athletes and they’re really similar to us.”
“They are born to run and we are born to play.” pic.twitter.com/tkIA4L4RzY
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) April 2, 2025
Nikola Jokic’s Historic Night in Perspective
There have been only three 60-point triple-doubles in league history. And all three of them are quite impressive.
The first one was by James Harden when he was a member of the Houston Rockets. He scored 60 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals, and a block. Harden shot 19-30 from the field and 5-14 from the three-point line. The dynamic point guard did much damage from the free throw line, going 17-18.
The second was by Luka Doncic, who had 60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and a block while shooting 21-31 from the field, 2-6 from three-point range, and 16-22 from the free-throw line.
The big difference between Doncic, Harden, and Jokic? The first two won their game. The Timberwolves were able to overcome the Joker’s historic night. Jokic also needed the most minutes to get the stat line. Doncic and Harden did it in 47 and 46 minutes respectively.
Westbrook Spoiled Joker’s Night
Russell Westbrook has helped to revitalize this Nuggets team. He gave them an edge, but in this game, he was the one that cost them the game. He had a layup in the final seconds, but he missed it, and then committed a foul on the defensive end.
After the game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone defended Westbrook, saying,
“He’s a guy that hates to lose. So he may not want to hear any of that stuff because he’s a perfectionist and he’s a competitor. And knowing the way I do, he’s probably going to put a lot of this on him. But we lost tonight. The Denver Nuggets, we as a collective group lost a game tonight, not one player.”
Photo credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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