Beating the Game
In my efforts to stay ahead of the pack and consistently beat the system, I run thought experiments through a myriad of gamified scenarios. Two to three years ago, I highlighted how the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers would achieve a high winning percentage. Currently, this season, their win rate is approximately 83.7%, with a record of 36 wins and 7 losses.
Recently, I noted how the game of basketball might be changing. Since that observation, Nikola Jokic has secured historic triple-doubles, improving the Denver Nugget’s performance. As of January 24, 2025, Jokic recorded his fifth consecutive triple-double.
As the market goes in cycles, trends and fads will come and go. I like to find inversions to these trends and fads, hence the mental exercise, which, if one were a sports speculator, could also be monetized.
The NBA has experienced distinct evolutionary eras defined by revolutionary players: Stephen Curry ushered in the three-point revolution, while Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic are pioneering the triple-double era. Just as Curry's impact led to teams prioritizing three-point shooting, the Westbrook-Jokic paradigm is redefining modern basketball through versatile stat-line production. This shift mirrors how Steve Nash's "Seven Seconds or Less" Suns influenced the Warriors' championship style years later. In today's NBA, the combination of playmaking, rebounding, and scoring ability exemplified by players getting triple-doubles has become as transformative as the three-point shot was in the previous decade. Should the Nuggets win a championship with Jokic's style of play, it could cement this approach as the next template for NBA success, leading more teams to prioritize multi-dimensional players who can impact the game across multiple statistical categories.