Nikola Jokic Turns Heads With Historic Performance vs. Kings

The Denver Nuggets picked up a massive 136-105 road win over the Sacramento Kings to improve to 18-6 on the season. This win now extends the Nuggets' road winning streak to 11 games and helps them retain second place in the Western Conference. Most notably, Nikola Jokic continues to make his case for a fourth MVP win.

Jokic has already finished in the top two in NBA MVP voting in each of the past five seasons, winning three of them, and this season will be no different. In Thursday's win over the Kings, Jokic dropped 36 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists on 14-16 shooting. A normal Jokic statline, right? Well, the superstar center only played three quarters.

Jokic became the first player in NBA history to record 36+ points, 12+ rebounds, and 8+ assists in 30 or fewer minutes, while shooting 80% or better from the field, per Stathead.

Nikola Jokić and Denver win their 4th straight!

🃏 36 PTS
🃏 12 REB
🃏 8 AST
🃏 14-16 FGM

Joker passes Carmelo Anthony for the second-most 30-point games in @nuggets franchise history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RaDMLfA4ZZ
— NBA (@NBA) December 12, 2025

David Adelman gives Nikola Jokic his flowers

After Thursday's game, Nuggets head coach David Adelman made sure to give Jokic his flowers for the historic performance.

"Geez. [He did] a lot of everything. I mean, the efficiency, 14 of 16, hits a couple threes, always makes the right pass. 36, 12, and 8 through three quarters in 29 minutes is just — you just saw everything tonight. He played pick-and-roll as a handler, did a great job screening when he was the roller. We played through him in all the split-game stuff that we run. He just makes the appropriate play throughout," Adelman said.

"He's the best player alive. So it's fun to watch him play."

Adelman has not shied away from calling Jokic "the best player alive" throughout the season, as he has somehow taken his game to the next level recently. Through the first 24 games of the season, Jokic is averaging 29.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 10.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 62.2% from the field and 42.4% from three-point range.

Of course, Jokic was facing a damaged Kings frontcourt on Thursday night with Domantas Sabonis sidelined, primarily matching him up against second-round rookie Maxime Raynaud, so this historic performance from him was actually fairly predictable.

Jokic is undoubtedly an all-time great, and when the opponent does not have the personnel to properly match up against him, these types of performances will happen.

David Adelman gives Nikola Jokic his flowers

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