Nikola Jokić’s scoring and 3-point shooting are down to start the season. But everything else is right where it belongs.

Nikola Jokić (15) of the Denver Nuggets heads a deep ball to Peyton Watson (8) during the third quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

The three-time Denver Nuggets MVP posted 25 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in Monday’s 127-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It marked Jokić’s third triple in three games to start the NBA season, putting him in rare, but familiar company.

Per NBC, only two other players in league history have started a season with three triple-doubles in three games. Oscar Robertson did it in 1960-61. And Russell Westbrook did it in 2020-21.

Those are also the only other players with more career triple-doubles than Jokić, who recorded his 167th Monday night. And they’re the only other players to have averaged a triple-double for an entire season. Robertson did it in 1960-61. And Westbrook did it four times in five seasons from 2015 to 2021.

Jokić did it for the first time last season in a campaign that did not earn one of his three MVPs. If the start of this season is any indication, he’s going to threaten to do so again.

What will Jokić’s game look like this season?

The Nuggets are playing with a retooled roster this season that should lighten the scoring load on Jokić, who averaged a career-high 29.6 points per game in 2024-25. So far, amid a 2-1 Nuggets start, Jokić has taken a step back in scoring.

In an overtime loss to the Warriors in Denver’s first game of the season, Jokić struggled from 3 (2 of 13) on a night where he shot just 8 of 23 (34.8%) from the field. He scored 21 points that night to go with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

In a Saturday win over the Suns, Jokić prioritized playmaking and posted 14 points, 14 rebounds and 15 assists on a night where he attempted just eight field goals. He shot 5 of 8 from the field with all of his misses arriving on an 0-for-3 effort from 3.

On Monday, Jokić didn’t even bother a 3-point attempt on an efficient 9-of-10 night from the field that produced his 25 points. And the Nuggets rallied from a 65-57 halftime deficit to beat a Timberwolves team playing without Anthony Edwards in Minnesota.

Jokić’s shooting just 2 of 16 from 3 through his first three games. And he seems content not to hoist them at the moment while they’re not falling. But they’ll fall soon enough. And when they do, expect the tally to rise in the points column of his now regular triple-doubles.