The Denver Nuggets lead the league in one of the more obscure stats in the league — number of languages used in trash talking.
Whether it’s Danilo Gallinari venting frustration towards a referee in Italian, Jusuf Nurkic calling out players in Bosnian after a blocked shot, or Nikola Jokić getting cursed out in Serbian by his brothers from the stands, the Nuggets have a fine selection of languages from which to discretely drop profanity.
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Nemanja and Strahinja Jokić are doing a fine job filling their responsibilities as older siblings, but there isn’t much to hate about the youngest Jokić’s game lately. Jokic has been exceptional for the Nuggets this season, and has been drawing praise from those around him.
“If I could adopt him, he’s the kind of kid that I’d love to have,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said in late December. “We need a big brother for my two girls. Everything about him is just A+, his personality, his work ethic, his skill level. I just love him as a person, as a young man, and he’s a joy to be around.”
The Serbian rookie has been a positive force for the Nuggets, providing a boost in the locker room, where his teammates affectionately refer to him as “Big Honey.” He’s also a shot on adrenaline on the court, where he’s become a double-double threat every night.
Jokic had a breakout performance on Feb. 1 against the Toronto Raptors, dropping a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds in the victory, helping the Nuggets end the Raptors’ 11-game winning streak. Over his last 10 games, Jokic is averaging 13.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in about 25 minutes per game, according to NBA Stats.
What has set Jokic apart this season is his feel for the game, especially for an international player that has played just over 1,000 minutes in the league. With Emmanuel Mudiay, the Nuggets are dealing with the struggles associated with having a 19-year-old rookie point guard as the primary ball handler. However they’ve found success of late by initiating offensive sets through Jokic on the elbows, letting their young center find openings across the court and have the point feed him.
The Nuggets like to give Jokic the ball and let their guards, especially Gary Harris and Will Barton, cut to the hoop into the space vacated by Jokic establishing position away from the paint. Watch what the Nuggets have Jokic do here with Mudiay and fellow 2014 draft selection Harris, with video courtesy of An Nguyen.
Mudiay dribbles the ball past a Jokic screen on the right wing, dropping off the ball on a bounce pass to Jokic at the elbow, allowing him to dribble to his left. Harris feints towards Jokic from the left corner, and DeMar DeRozan steps towards the big man in a move to deny a dribble hand-off. Harris sees DeRozan step away from the baseline, and cuts towards the hoop into space. Jokic threads a beautiful back-hand bounce pass to Harris who jumps over Luis Scola for a two-hand dunk.
The Nuggets are comfortable having Jokic run pick and roll with Mudiay, as well, strengthening the bond two first established at the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit. Jokic has a feather-soft touch around the basket, and can use his long frame to get off one-handed floaters in the paint that difficult to block. He doesn’t have much of a vertical jump, but with how quick his hands are and his height, he’s able to surprise defenders, as he does here to Jonas Valanciunas.
Michael Malone will also call plays for Jokic in the post, where he can utilize his quickness and shooting touch to create mismatches. Against the Raptors, Jokic found himself switched onto Cory Joseph, and went to the right block for a post-up opportunity. Joseph had to respect Jokic’s ability to pass the ball, and once Jokic got him to bite on a pass fake, it was game over. Jokic sees Joseph look away, spins baseline, and catches Bismack Biyombo napping on the weak side for an uncontested dunk.
Jokic is able to show off his point guard skills at times as well. While the 6-foot-10-inch (probably closer to 7-foot) tall center doesn’t look it now, at one time, Jokic was a point guard with a healthy amount of chunk on his frame. His former Mega Leks teammate Nenad Miljenovic shared a picture of Jokic’s passport photo, which looks like it was taken when Jokic was still in his adolescent years, and he’s nearly unrecognizable. Jokic lost 30 pounds before the season began, helping him be able to do things like block a shot, gather the loose ball, and lead the offense in transition.
Watch as Jokic stonewalls Valanciunas, grabbing the ball from his hands off the shot attempt, then strides down the court with his teammates flanking him on the wings. The Raptors are stuck helping on players that are a threat to score from the perimeter, and Jokic is able to drop a pass to Faried who easily lays in the ball over Scola.
It’s moments like those that leave Malone full of praise for the developing center. After the Raptors game, Malone couldn’t constrain himself, giving this quote to Harrison Wind of BSN Denver.
“Well every time I think he’s kind of reached his rookie ceiling, the game he had tonight, I mean you could talk about some of these very young bigs who are very talented, the kid in New York, Minnesota, Philly. I don’t know any of their names. I know this kids name though. I know Nikola Jokic and I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in the world. He’s a special young man, he’s a special young talent and he’s only going to get better as he continues to get stronger, learn the NBA, finishing around the basket, defensively. But, he’s a heck of a young talent, I give a lot of credit to Tim Connelly and the front office for finding him and making him a part of this organization.”
While it is a stretch of the truth to say that he doesn’t know the names of Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Jahlil Okafor, Malone is obviously pleased with the production Jokic has contributed this season. With the amount of work Jokic has put in, there isn’t any reason to not include his name among that group of young, promising big men. This is a group of players that have the potential to be difference makers in the league for a long time, and the league is better with them in it.
As fellow Serbian Bojana Stamenov sings, “Beauty never lies, never hides, never gives a damn.” Jokic is a sensational player, and it’s time for the league to take note.