Nikola Jokic Leads the NBA in Three of Four Key Box-Score Metrics in 2025-26
With 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game, Jokic is the only player ranking first in more than one broad measure of value — and he tops three of them, including overall Game Score.
Published: · Figures as of August 18, 2026
Asked: who is the best player basketball right now?
Nikola Jokic leads every broad measure of NBA box-score value in 2025-26
Across the four metrics that together best describe a player's total contribution — scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and overall box-score efficiency — Jokic is the only player who ranks first on more than one, and he ranks first on three of them. That's the 2025-26 NBA season (which concluded this past spring).
The case for Jokic
His 2025-26 line: 27.7 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 10.7 APG across 65 games. He leads the league in both rebounds per game and assists per game outright, and his Game Score — Hollinger's single-number box-score summary, which accounts for all five box-score categories — came in at 28.68 per game, first in the league out of 359 qualified players. That's a substantial gap over the next two names (Luka Doncic at 26.44, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 26.42). He also shoots 67.0% true shooting, which ranks 21st overall, but every player ranked above him is a low-usage role big. Among players carrying his volume, he's one of the most efficient in the league.
No other player this season averaged 10+ assists, 10+ rebounds, and 27+ points simultaneously. That combination puts him in territory only he occupies.
The challengers
Luka Doncic is the scoring leader at 33.5 PPG — 5.8 more per game than Jokic — and his Game Score of 26.44 is second in the league. His 8.3 assists rank fourth. The case for Doncic rests almost entirely on scoring volume; Jokic contributes more across the other categories, and at 66.5% TS% SGA is the more efficient bucket-getter.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander posted 31.1 PPG, third in GmSc (26.42), and 66.5% TS%, making him arguably the most efficient of the three elite scorers. His playmaking (not in the top ten in assists) is where the gap to Jokic opens.
Victor Wembanyama ranks fifth in Game Score (22.38) and fourth in rebounds (11.5 RPG), and is worth watching as a developing multi-dimensional threat — but he's about 6 Game Score points per game behind the top three.
The honest qualifier
Game Score and these per-game stats are box-score measures. They count what gets into the box score, not on/off impact, defensive positioning, or shot-creation for others that doesn't end in an assist. Metrics that would capture those dimensions — PER, BPM, RAPTOR — aren't available here. The box-score data is consistent and substantial enough that Jokic's edge is real on what's measurable; whether it fully survives a more complete accounting is a question the available data can't close.
Confidence: High that Jokic is the top box-score performer in the NBA this season. The gap in Game Score is real and his multi-category dominance is unique. The "best player" debate ultimately involves values the data can inform but not settle.