The Denver Nuggets defeated the Orlando Magic in a 126-115 win on Thursday night. It was a good, professional win from Denver. Orlando made some comeback attempts by generating free throws but couldn’t manage to close the gap.

Jamal Murray was incredible, scoring 32 points while shooting 7-of-12 from three-point range. Cam Johnson had a really strong all-around game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists, playing efficient basketball while leading the team at +27 in plus-minus. Spencer Jones guarded Paolo Banchero well tonight, and though he fouled out, it was clear that Jones was the best option to guard him. Jones also had a sick dunk.

But the biggest story of the game ended up being Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets superstar center was in range of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time assists list for a center entering tonight. Jokic ended up with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and a crucial 13 assists, rushing past Kareem in the record books.

Jokic’s overall game was strong, but the story truly is about this moment in history. The Nuggets have a player who passed the greatest center of all-time in a cumulative statistic. Kareem played for 20 seasons, and Jokic just passed him on the assist list in his 11th year in the NBA. It’s truly remarkable.

Rather than focus on the game, let’s focus on what Jokic’s coach and teammates said about him passing Kareem tonight:

“This is why I came back,” Bruce Brown shared in the locker room postgame.

“It’s incredible. And the amount of time it took him to do it,” Cam Johnson declared. “I’d also say it’s predictable. He’s the best passing center of all-time probably by a very wide margin. He’s one of the best passers the game has ever seen.”

“This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years that I’ve had to play this game with him,” Jamal Murray shared at the podium. “It’s special. You know, passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool.”

“I think it’s such a cool thing because it’s Kareem who was passed by [LeBron James] as the all-time leading scorer, which puts in perspective who Nikola passed. So, it’s a celebration of both people,” head coach David Adelman declared.

Adelman continued: “I’ll just keep saying it: just don’t get tired of this because it’s unique. For those of us that love the history of the game, this one is one that should be wrote about and talked about and should be a national story.”

As for Nikola Jokic himself? He took the self-effacing route as he so often does.

“I don’t know but I need to think about it on that one. But I’m going to think something good, something worth lying for.”

Jokic’s common joke about all of the stats and accolades he’s achieved in his career involves sitting on his front porch during retirement reminiscing about the good ol’ days and lying about how good he was to his children.

Genuinely though, it’s becoming less of something that he can joke about and more of what’s actually happening. Jokic’s night helped him jump into the Top 50 all-time in assists at 5,667 (regular season). Next up on the list is the great Larry Bird at 49th at 5,690. Assuming Jokic accumulates another 550 assists or so this season (50 more games x roughly 11.0 assists per game) then he will have about 6,217, which would place him 38th on the all-time list right behind Kobe Bryant and Jerry West.

Add to that another four years of averaging about 10.0 assists per game across 70 games (conservative numbers based on his recent pace). That means he adds another 2,800 assists which would get him to over 9,000. Isiah Thomas is currently 10th on the all-time assist list at 9,061. Jokic may or may not play long enough to accumulate over 10,000 assists, but if he did, that would almost assuredly place him in the Top 5 assist totals of all-time.

Suffice to say, Jokic is pacing reasonably well for all-time history. He may not become the all-time assist leader (John Stockton has an absurd 15,806 assists by averaging 10.5 assists per game across 19 seasons) but there’s no doubt he could join the pantheon of passers most praised by pundits.

It’s easy to take Jokic for granted because he’s always here. He’s always available. That won’t always be the case though, so celebrating these moments is just fine by me.