Nikola Jokic Accused Of Getting Undeserved Assists By NBA

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Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is a three-time NBA MVP.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is under criticism for some of his in-game assists being questionable when looking back at the footage. Official NBA game scorers determine stats like assists and rebounds during the game. Stat corrections sometimes happen throughout the game with players gaining or losing stats via the scorer looking back at replays. However, fans are starting to look deeper into Jokic’s assists specifically as a superstar who averages a triple double.

Popular NBA subreddit R/NBA featured a top post today from user OurHorrifyingPlanet putting together nearly a full minute of questionable assists from Jokic solely in the first quarter. The timing is interesting since the scorers seem more favorable to Jokic early in games to help get his stats up quickly.

Jokic finished with 19 assists for the Denver Nuggets in their victory over the Dallas Mavericks, but the fan-made compilation soured some fans on his big night. The current pace of Jokic sees him likely to finish his second consecutive season with a triple double average. Jokic will join Russell Westbrook as the only player in NBA history to accomplish this multiple times. Oscar Robertson is the only other name on the list outside of Jokic and Westbrook.

Why NBA Scorers Inflate Jokic’s Assists

The human element of basketball often comes into play for scenarios like this. Jokic putting up triple doubles with relative ease makes that part of what fans come to see and expect from him. Stat scorers expect the same and likely favor Jokic to get the assist call on difficult plays more than the average player.

Past eras saw accusations made towards John Stockton getting favorable calls for both assists and steals. The legendary Utah Jazz point guard retired with a strong lead in the all-time lists for both steals and assists thanks to getting the benefit of the doubt on questionable plays.

Fans looked into some old Michael Jordan games and saw certain games with high steal numbers inflated with plays that could have gone to other teammates. The Chicago Bulls icon was the face of the league and received favorable steal calls. Jokic is not the first to have this accusation made about his stats, but it comes in the era of social media.

Will The NBA Make Any Changes?

Even evidence like this doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of the NBA. Jokic would still easily get his triple doubles without a handful of controversial assists, but it does factor into other issues involving the game.

The NBA has doubled down on gambling ads, and just about every stat has a wager associated with it. Other players missing out on assists or Jokic going over a certain prop estimate can cause gamblers to lose money and question the NBA ethics.

Teammates making their own plays were shown in the video compilation, but the box scores implies that Jokic set them up for the points via his assistance. The NBA likely won’t crack down on this since only a small minority is upset about it. However, a bigger issue or the story taking off in the playoff could see things getting stricter.

Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford