Denver Nuggets — Nikola Jokic
The Denver Nuggets have a quietly nice selection of young players to sort through when trying to choose a most important Nugget. Jamal Murray, Gary Harris Jr., and now Michael Porter Jr. all seem like they have high ceilings. None of those ceilings are as big as Nikola Jokic or his own ceiling.
Jokic has become a controversial player online, which is kind of funny considering how little Jokic himself would probably care about that. In his mind, according to Howard Beck’s fantastic feature on the Serbian big man, Jokic is just a normal guy.
Off the court Jokic might be the most average person around, but he certainly is abnormal when he’s playing basketball. Jokic is not the best athlete and he’ll never be a lockdown defender, but there are maybe a handful of big men ever who can pass like Jokic can.
The eye test bears out Jokic’s impact on Denver’s offense, and the numbers agree. With Jokic on the floor, the Nuggets scored 112.6 points per 100 possessions. Without him, Denver’s offense slowed down and managed just 104.8 points per 100 possessions.
It’s tough to properly analyze other Nuggets players, because Jokic makes life so much easier for all of them offensively. His feel is tremendous, whether he’s operating from the top of the key or the low block. Jokic is the engine that drives the Nuggets ahead, and subsequently the most important player in Denver.