Nikola Jokic Reaches GOAT Tier With Historic Six-Year Stretch

While there are not many stats in the NBA that can accurately reflect who the most valuable player in the league is, one stands out more than most. Box Plus/Minus estimates how much a player impacts the game when they are on the court, and to minimal surprise, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the BPM king.

After finishing the 2025-26 season with a 14.2 BPM, which is the best in NBA history, he has now led the league in this stat for six consecutive seasons. The only other players to lead the NBA in BPM for six consecutive years? LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If that's not GOAT company, then I'm not sure what is.

Nikola Jokić is the first player to lead the NBA in both rebounds and assists per game in a season since 1969-70, when leaders began to be determined by per-game averages.

Wilt Chamberlain led the NBA in both categories in 1967-68, when leaders were determined by totals. pic.twitter.com/PG6WJemLRm
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 13, 2026

Jokic also holds the NBA record for highest career BPM at 10.6, leading the second-place Michael Jordan (9.2) and third-place LeBron James (8.4). On top of that, he holds the top three seasons in league history, and five of the top six, with his 2025-26 campaign taking the throne. The only other players to have a top-ten season are LeBron James, Michael Jordan (2x), and Steph Curry.

Is Jokic reaching GOAT status?

Of course, seeing Jokic among the greatest players in league history, joining the likes of James, Jordan, and Abdul-Jabbar, is simply astonishing. Regardless of context, Jokic is statistically cementing himself as one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball.

This season, he averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game, becoming the first player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounds and assists per game. He has also led the league in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) and had the second-best Offensive Box Plus/Minus (OBPM) season ever, trailing only 2015-16 Steph Curry.

David Adelman on Nikola Jokić in MVP discussions:

"He is the best player in the world. I just don't want people to skip past our guy because he's won it three times." (@DNVR_Nuggets) pic.twitter.com/VwGPoTSUuz
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 5, 2026

The wildest part about all of this is that Jokic will likely go back to Serbia MVP-less for the second straight summer. After rightfully winning three MVPs in four years, Jokic is expected to lose to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the second consecutive year, despite putting up historical numbers.

With three MVPs and one Finals MVP, Jokic has not quite done enough to put himself in the actual GOAT conversation, regardless of what the numbers say. If Jokic is able to add a couple more championships to his resume, he will have a strong case as one of the greatest ever, but for now, he is only in that tier statistically.

Sign up for our free Denver Nuggets On SI newsletter, and get breaking Nuggets news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google