2023-07-23 16:50:00
NBA – At the top of his game with his first league title, and the Finals MVP trophy in addition to his two regular season MVPs, Nikola Jokic is the big man of the season.
To say he’s an NBA superstar like no other is an understatement.
In the “show business” of the American Big League, Nikola Jokic is a UFO. A huge player with the most endearing personality. For the occasion, BasketUSA has delved into its archives to offer you a very large format portrait. Normal for the champion of champions this year in the NBA!
First part : Large format | Nikola Jokic, from jockey to Joker: the Serbian rise
From Jokic to the Joker
Having become an indisputable starter in Denver, especially following the trade that sent Jusuf Nurkic to Portland, Nikola Jokic will gradually strengthen his game, and his physique, to become a real war machine. A basketball factory capable of stringing together two MVP titles in quick succession. And without giving the impression of forcing.
But, to go from Jokic to the Joker, the Serbian pivot had to do a lot of hard work, which he was clearly not used to.
After taking care of physical phenomena such as Kenyon Martin, Chris “Birdman” Andersen or Allen Iverson, the legendary supercharged physical trainer, Steve Hess (whom we interviewed in 2014), also participated in the physical transformation of Nikola Jokic.
In his hands, with a diet of seven light meals a day, Nikola Jokic melted. From 132 to 113 kilos! A metamorphosis that did not take place overnight, but, on the contrary, over several seasons.
“He’s clearly not the most athletic player on the pitch, but on the other hand, he knows exactly what type of player he is on the pitch. If you put a little on him, he will punish him. If you put a guy in his size, he will use his game intelligence and his technique. It is very difficult to hold, and it is a duel that we have never managed to win so far [avec les Clippers] », explained this season Paul George in JJ Redick’s podcast. « He really amazed me with his speed of hands. Sometimes, there were passes in his direction but which were not very precise and normally, I manage to seize it and intercept. But he managed to recover them, and either follow up with a shot behind or create a gap for a teammate. He’s pretty fast on his second jump for a guy who’s not athletic. We tried everything in defense once morest him, but it didn’t work! »
In addition, his sense of placement has always been one of his greatest qualities. At 21, the Serb was already among the most effective players on “cuts”, with 1,603 points scored on this type of possession. A formidable weapon, especially combined with his quality of passing, an innate talent with him!
“He is naturally amazing”
From his young years of wanting to attempt impossible passes and wanting to favor pleasure above all, Nikola Jokic has withdrawn a unique know-how. And an incomparable vision of the game. “I really think the only muscle you need in basketball is your brain,” he says without flinching.
To tell the truth, Nikola Jokic has mastered the art of the pass so well that he has to find little games to continue having fun… and to keep his teammates alert during the long NBA seasons. In training, when he sees one of his partners looking away when he has the ball in hand, the Serb has taken the habit… of throwing the leather in his head!
“Sometimes he does it on purpose, just to keep us alert. It’s a good tactic, especially in training where if you don’t watch, he’ll hit the ball in your face or somewhere else. It reminds you to always watch the ball.”explained Paul Millsap, who also confides that he was the target of his teammate. “He had me a few times, but not in the head. I had seen the ball arrive at the last second and I was able to avoid it. »
Like Marc Gasol, who was not a model of explosiveness or verticality either, but who had nevertheless been voted best defender of the year in 2013, Nikola Jokic worked on this aspect of his game to become, if not a dreaded defensive pivot, a pivot who skilfully plays with his weight and who can compensate for his slowness with his sense of anticipation.
Generally speaking, Nikola Jokic has always been this quiet force. A player who perfectly knew how to keep the notion of play despite all the obligations of the very high level.
“He’s just a special player. Almost weird, continues MPJ. “He has his own routine; he plays on his phone in the locker room. Now he takes his health a lot more seriously, but before that I was told he was going home during the off-season, drinking beers quietly and riding his horses. And then, two weeks before the season, he got down to it and took advantage of training camp to get back in shape. He is naturally amazing, I don’t really know how else to say it! »
Double MVP
The image is enough to make you laugh a posteriori. Admittedly, this is only a snapshot frozen during an exhibition match. But Nikola Jokic, double MVP and now NBA champion and MVP of the Finals, was indeed the penultimate player chosen at the last All Star Game.
Star among the superstars, with a record that has grown considerably in recent years, spectacular without being spectacular, in his mastery of the fundamentals more than by his dunks, his counters or his dribbles, Nikola Jokic is obviously not the player we think of first when we talk regarding the “show business” of the NBA.
However, it is he who has dominated the debates for several seasons now… “He never fights once morest the game”said his coach, Mike Malone, quite rightly.
“When I met Jokic, he was more or less fat! », laughs regarding him Michael Porter Jr. “The first time I came to Denver, he was there and he took the rebounds for me [sur une séance de tirs], I thought he was a good guy. I didn’t know much regarding him because he was good, but not like now! And then, at the back-to-school training camp, he was playing well, but nothing more. Mason Plumlee was doing just as well as him. I wondered why he started in front of Plumlee. But the guys told me: no, but when he wants, he can give anyone 40 points! You will see when the season will start. And for good reason ! »
Quickly put in the scent once the season started, Michael Porter Jr. immediately readjusted his vision of his Serbian teammate. He understood how his approach to the game might benefit him, and even more so the entire Nuggets team.
“Now that I’ve been playing with him for several seasons, it kind of rubs off on me too. You start to understand what he wants and what he sees on the pitch. Even if he’s not looking in my direction, I know that if we’re in a certain situation, he’s going to give me the pass, a pass that no one else will dare to attempt. He’s a weird dude who’s really put in the work for the past few years, but he’s got natural talent, touch, passing quality. He never gives the impression of forcing. It’s really amazing to see. »
“So now everyone is cutting! »
Assembled since the Draft of the Canadian back in 2016, the Murray – Jokic duo has taken a long time to mature. We tend to forget it because their combination really showed itself in the Western Conference final in the Bubble in 2020, but Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic still have a lot of games in common over the past seven years (despite Jamal Murray’s white season in 2021-22).
And, from the start of the 2019 season, mentioning the previous season, the Serbian pivot already explained to us that his agreement with the Canadian rear was the keystone of the Nuggets system.
“Honestly, I think we were already doing that at the end of last season,” he affirmed in our columns. “The whole team is comfortable with it because it’s not just him and me who benefit from it. One can create advantages and find open players. Everyone benefits in my opinion. »
In fact, Mike Malone abounds. The backbone of the Nuggets is its leader/pivot axis. An axis of good for Denver!
” When [Bruce Brown] understood that he might score as much on his cuts, all the others said to themselves: ‘wow, me too, I want easy baskets! So now everyone is cutting! »
Humility Superstar
Almost more importantly, and as we saw during the parade following the title, or better at home dancing standing on a chair, from Sombor in Serbia to Denver in Colorado, Nikola Jokic remained the same, with a candor and a freshness that clashes in the NBA.
“I had no preconceived ideas before meeting him, and following seeing him in person, I mightn’t believe it! », attests Bones Hyland, transferred from the Nuggets to the Clippers during the season. “The guy behaves like that. After winning two MVP titles! He’s a super humble guy, who doesn’t want to talk regarding individual awards. He only talks regarding work, nothing else. He always talks regarding the team and regarding winning. The awards, I’m not saying he doesn’t care but in any case, he doesn’t want to talk regarding it. He only wants to win a title, several titles actually. Having a teammate like that, having a leader like that, is a model to follow frankly. »
Among the highest paid players in the League, and rightly so, although he signed the biggest contract in the history of the Nuggets and European basketball: 148 million dollars over five years, the former stable boy did not ignite. Far from there…
“I’ve never seen a guy so reluctant for such a big contract,” explained his GM Tim Connelly in the Denver Post. “I say that in a good way. Everything is secondary for him following basketball and his family. The rest, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t like the spotlight. »
In 2019, Nikola Jokic said he wanted to be the “Tim Duncan of the Nuggets“… With his five All-Star capes, two MVP titles and now a ring plus another MVP title, that of the Finals, he is on his way.
“He is so special! »
While remaining as discreet off-pitch as his Spurs model.
“Jokic has no social media presence, no Instagram or anything. He is so special! He loves his horses.” smiled his pal from the Balkans, Luka Doncic. “I tried to convince him to open an Instagram account but he replied that there was no way that would happen. »
Not unlike one of his compatriots, Darko Milicic, who also returned to the country for a real return to his roots in agriculture, Nikola Jokic does not see himself anywhere else than on his farm. As soon as he is on vacation (remember his press conference just following the title), or following his career, he wants nothing more than to be cushy in his native land. And more precisely in his barn, his ultimate refuge.
“For the seventh consecutive year, every time I come back, I stop there. I don’t even know why, but it’s a place where I feel safe and completely at home. »
A multi-talented player on a basketball court, Nikola Jokic is a simple man off it. He loves nature, his horses, his farm and the traditional music of the Balkans, the tamburitza. An NBA superstar like no other, that’s for sure!
“Honestly, I don’t think there’s a song good enough to [raconter ma vie]. I love tamburitza players, this style of music and this somewhat traditional lifestyle. And then there’s horse riding because it’s been my love since I was 12. I still think I’m going to be a rider one way or another, and do this sport. (…) [Quand j’arrêterai], I would like to spend a little more time with the horses, go to the races or ride horses. »
Nikola Jokic Percentage Rebounds Season Team MJ Min Tues 3pts LF Off Def Tot Pd Fte Int Bp Ct Pts 2015-16 DEN 80 22 51.2 33.3 81.1 2.3 4.7 7.0 2.4 2.6 1.0 1.3 0.6 10.0 2016-17 DEN 73 28 57.8 32.4 82.5 2.9 6.9 9.8 4.9 2.9 0.8 2.3 0.8 16.7 2017-18 DEN 75 33 49.9 39.6 85.0 2.6 8.1 10.7 6.1 2.8 1.2 2.8 0.8 18.5 2018-19 DEN 80 31 51.1 30.7 82.1 2.9 8.0 10.8 7.3 2.9 1.4 3.1 0.7 20.1 2019-20 DEN 73 32 52.8 31.4 81.7 2.3 7.5 9.7 7.0 3.0 1.2 3.1 0.6 2 0.0 2020-21 ★ DEN 72 35 56.6 38.8 86.8 2.9 8.0 10.8 8.3 2.7 1.3 3.1 0.7 26.4 2021-22 ★ DEN 74 34 58.3 33.7 81.0 2.8 11.0 13.8 7.9 2 .6 1.5 3.8 0.9 27.1 2022-23 DEN 69 34 63.2 38.3 82.2 2.4 9.4 11.8 9.8 2.5 1.3 3.6 0.7 24.5 Total 596 31 55.3 34.8 82.9 2.6 7.9 10.5 6.6 2.8 1.2 2.9 0.7 20.2
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
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