Among all the milestones and achievements a player can get in Olympic basketball, getting a triple-double is probably the toughest of them all. Since LeBron James did it in 2012, it took 9 years before Luka Doncic replicated the feat. Nikola Jokic, who made lodging triple-doubles a norm in the NBA, just needed one more assist to record an Olympic triple-double against Puerto Rico.

After the opening day hammering to Team USA, Serbia needed a comeback, and they delivered by recovering their point differential and almost doubling it with a 107-66 win. Nikola Jokić was in the thick of it with his 14-15-9 stat line, just an assist short of joining the illustrious company of James and Doncic. Jokic was subbed out and did not return to the court in the fourth quarter to add one more assist to his name. Had he played a part and dished out that assist, Jokic would’ve been the 4th ever player in the history of the competition to record a triple-double.

The first ever to do so was the Soviet Union’s Alexander Belov in 1976. Belov added 23 points, and grabbed 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the 100-72 win over Canada. The next one did not come till 2012 when LeBron James repeated the feat. In the 119-86 win over Australia, LeBron recorded an 11-14-12 stat line. The third one came in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics when Luka Doncic scored 16 points, dished out 18 assists, and cleaned up the board 10 times against France. But that was not enough to save the game as France won 90-89 in the semi-final, making Doncic the only player to score a triple-double in the Olympics and lose.

For Nikola Jokić, it could’ve been yet another crowning moment following his MVP-winning season with the Nuggets. But after the tough start, the win against Puerto Rico propelled them to the top of the Group C standings ahead of Team USA’s game. Jokic didn’t mind though as he had a simple message following missing out on the historical feat.

Nikola Jokić reacts to missing out on triple-double

Despite missing out on the historic stat line by the thinnest of margins, Jokic guided his team to 2 points and now put them in the driving seat. Following the game, Jokic made himself clear that the miss did not bother him a bit and said, “Oh, it is what it is,” to BasketNews.

Even his teammate, Bogdan Bogdanovic, had the same view about it. “We heard from some fan. He was yelling, ‘Put Nikola back,’ but I think Jokic gets bored with hearing these noises from outside for stats because he’s dominant. And I can tell you he’s not playing for stats,” the Hawks guard said.

The final Group C game for Serbia will be on August 4. A lot rides on Team USA’s game against South Sudan as an upset could shake up the group’s outlook completely. A win for South Sudan will send them top of the group with Team USA and Serbia tied with 3 points each. But Nikola Jokić’s team will be the third-placed in that case and only a win on the final day will send them through directly to the quarterfinals.

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And in case Team USA comes out victorious tonight, Serbia will tie South Sudan in points with the two teams separated by point differential only. So one could easily predict that Jokić will be laser-focused going into that game and a potential triple-double will only be an afterthought as it was today.

And to absorb more interesting stories, watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where the prodigy puts Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr under the pump with loaded NBA questions and more in this video below.