How hard is it to score 30 points, 20 boards and 10 assists in a single game in the playoffs? Only three men in the NBA did it, and Jokic was No. 1
preface
When the NBA entered the small-ball era, the "giants" in the league seemed to become more of a "cash machine" for small players, and there were many interior players who were frequently targeted on the defensive end, but it was difficult to give a strong response at the other end of the court, and even caused the team to dare not put them on the court, and also made the "five small" lineup popular, and some teams dared to put multiple "guards" on the court, which was unimaginable for a long time in the past, and the time went back to the 90s, the "four centers" Olajuwon and Ewing , David Robinson and O'Neill faced the last team that used a small lineup to play the decisive moment, they will not make the opponent pay a heavy price, O'Neill made other teams have to prepare a few more big insiders.
However, the traditional interior line is gradually decreasing, but there are also "big players" in the small ball trend to find new ways to play in the league, the past 5 years of MVP have been taken by "big players" is a very good embodiment, in the playoffs, Anthony Davis in the game turned over the river to play 30 points, 23 rebounds, 40 points and 10 rebounds of the outstanding performance step by step to help the Lakers continue to move forward. In the history of the NBA, there are three players who can dominate the game by cutting at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a single game in the playoffs, they are all insiders, let's take a look at who the three players are!
1st place: Chamberlain (1 time)
Achieved: 1967 Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals G2
As early as the same year that Chamberlain graduated from high school and wanted to go to the University of Kansas in Lawrence City, the league had a "regional exception" clause, allowing teams to give up draft picks in exchange for local college players, when the Warriors were in Philadelphia, owner Gottlerb lobbied with league officials with a three-inch tongue, moved to reason, listed Chamberlain from Philadelphia, Chamberlain studied at the University of Kansas where there is no NBA team and many other reasons, and finally moved the league, He won the qualification to include Chamberlain in the future, and when he graduated from college, he offered Chamberlain the highest salary in the league.
As soon as he stood on the NBA playing field, Chamberlain proved his excellence with actual performance, cutting an astonishing 43 points and 28 rebounds on his NBA debut, Chamberlain was like a "flood beast" in the game, stepping into the real world, Chamberlain handed over exaggerated data of 33.2 points and 25.8 rebounds per game in the rookie season, becoming the only player who can average 30+20 per game, not only that, he has averaged at least 30+20 per game for as many as 7 seasons in his career. As he spent more time in the league, Chamberlain's skills became more sophisticated, scoring and rebounding were no longer enough to satisfy Chamberlain's appetite, he developed organizational skills, achieved breakthroughs in an era of relatively few changes in tactical play, and in the 1966-67 regular season, Chamberlain averaged 7.8 assists per game, ranking third in the league.
It was also in the playoffs of the 1966-67 season that Chamberlain led the 76ers to a championship, and in the series with the Cincinnati Royals, the 76ers suffered a black opener, and G2 Chamberlain completely destroyed the opponent with a full play, playing the whole game, bombarding 37 points, 27 rebounds and 11 assists, leading the team to a 21-point victory, and winning two consecutive games against the Royals of "Big O" Oscar Robertson in that 5-3 series. In the following game, the Celtics also became a stepping stone for Chamberlain to lead the team to win the championship, and he put an end to the Celtics' consecutive championships, stopping at 8 consecutive championships.
2nd place: Abdul-Jabbar (1 time)
Achieved: 1970 Playoffs Eastern Conference Final G2
In that era of NBA interior talents, after the two historical top interior linemen Russell and Chamberlain entered the end of their careers, waves of outstanding interior linemen emerged in the league, such as "Black Pearl" Earl Monroe, Erwin Hayes, etc., in 1969, a center named Abdul-Jabbar was picked by the Bucks with a top pick in the draft, starting a 20-year career, and then sat at the top of the NBA total scoring list for 39 years. Abdul-Jabbar's "Skyhook" is undoubtedly one of the most classic and highest-success star signature moves in league history.
The improvement brought by Abdul-Jabbar's addition to the Bucks is obvious, they have jumped from the bottom team in the league to the top level of the league, the number of regular season wins has more than doubled, after the 76ers who eliminated Billy Cunningham in the playoffs, the Bucks faced the Knicks with the MVP of the season, Willis Reed, the Knicks have both the top stars in the league, the overall roster is also very reasonable, the offensive and defensive standards are very good, the core team has been partnered for many years, but when they face Abdul-Jabbar, Unable to effectively limit Abdul-Jabbar's scoring, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 34.2 points per game in this series.
In the series G2, Abdul-Jabbar scored 38 points, 23 rebounds and 11 assists, unfortunately, the Bucks lost the game by 1 point, and then in the next game, Abdul-Jabbar scored 33 points and 31 rebounds, bringing a victory to the team, but this was the only victory for the Bucks, the Knicks eventually advanced and won the championship, and Willis Reid staged the "Return of the Heroes" drama in the Finals. The following season in 1970-71, sophomore Abdul-Jabbar won the scoring title and MVP, and took the Bucks to the championship.
3rd place: Jokic (3 times)
Achieved time: 2021 Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals G3, 2023 Playoffs Western Conference Finals G1, 2023 Finals G3
Love of carbonated drinks, chubby Jokic now has the ability to dominate the game, he entered the league as the 41st overall pick, stayed in the competition with Yusuf Nurkic, see the reward he brought to the Nuggets, the Nuggets finally have an MVP player in history, have the opportunity to sit in the top spot in the West, and also cross their name from those teams that have never been to the Finals since the formation of the team, and it took the Nuggets 46 years to wait for this day. Jokic has an extremely soft feel, whether under the basket or in the middle and long distance, the chubby Jokic looks chubby under the basket to tease the opponent, and can pull to the periphery to cast "cold arrows", on the basis of these excellent abilities, Jokic also has an imaginative pass, creative and very accurate, he can do almost anything on the court.
So far in his career, Jokic has scored at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a single game in the playoffs three times, more than the two predecessors Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar combined in their careers, the first time was in the 2021 playoff second round series G3 against the Suns, Jokic bombed 32 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, only 2 turnovers, and averaged 25 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game throughout the series.
And this season, Jokic in the Western Conference G1 slashed 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists to help the team win the opener, and finally played a series of 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists in the series of triple-doubles, three-point shooting rate as high as 47.1%, to the Finals, Jokic got a triple-double on his Finals debut, the Nuggets were able to rewrite the aggregate score to 1-0, although the Heat changed moves to bring the two sides back to the same running line, Jokic's 40+ large double-double turned into an empty cut, but Jokic quickly adjusted, G3 swooped 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists to regain the Nuggets lead in the overall score. Jokic's dominance in the game is unique, and in O'Neal's eyes, Jokic redefines the centre.