Exceptional basketball player Nikola Jokić: Strange paradox

Nikola Jokić from the Denver Nuggets is also the eye-catcher in the NBA Finals because of his style of play. Despite all his successes, he is still underestimated.

Seems awkward at times: Nikola Jokić trying to prevail in the game against the Miami Heat Photo: David Zalubowski/ap

Just suppose you were a basketball coach. And your team is in the NBA Finals right now and would have to play the Denver Nuggets. Their best player is a certain Nikola Jokić. Now the prize question: Would you align your tactics in such a way that the Serb scores as many points as possible, ideally even over 40 in one game? Surprising answer: yes!

As absurd as it sounds, if Jokić scores a bunch of points, there’s a better chance of winning against Denver than vice versa. The 7-foot-10 center has 40+ points three times in this year’s playoffs – and the Nuggets have lost all three times. Of the remaining 14 games in which Jokić stayed under the magic 40 point barrier, Denver won 13.

The last piece of evidence for the Nikola Jokić parodox was the second game of the NBA Finals series between Denver and Miami Heat. In the opening game of the best-of-7 series, Jokić didn’t even try to score, it was only three seconds before the end of the first period that he threw on the basket for the first time. Instead, he distributed the ball, provided assists, picked rebounds and dominated a barely-threatened win. Quite different in the second meeting: The Heat only put one, often much smaller defender against Jokić, preferring to block his passing paths instead. Even though Heat coach Erik Spoelstra dismissed the question of whether that was the decisive factor as “ridiculous” and pointed out that basketball is much more complex, the tactic was successful: Miami won 111-108, the series is before today’s third Game in Miami now balanced.

But the statistical oddity is just another piece of the puzzle in a larger story: Nikola Jokić could lead Denver to their first title in club history, he has already been voted the NBA’s best professional twice, and he has a chic, marketable nickname with “The Joker”. missed – and yet the Serbian international is probably the most underrated player.

Point guard in too big body

This is not least due to his extraordinary playing style. The 28-year-old does not meet the expectations of a center at all. Jokić can also tussle under the basket and score from close range, but he can also do everything else, throw from distance, provide assists and even dribble passably.

But he prefers to operate at the level of the free-throw line and controls the game from there, distributes the ball and sets the scene for teammates. “He reads the game, he makes the right decisions,” says his coach Mike Malone, “and then he tears the opponent apart.” In fact, there is probably no one in the history of basketball who can be compared to Jokić – he is the closest a mixture of the young Arvydas Sabonis and Dirk Nowitzki.

Actually, Jokić is a point guard in a body that is way too big – and that body is another reason why he is underestimated. His physiognomy means he doesn’t always appear fit, and a photo of him as an overweight shirtless teenager recently trended on social media. At that time, Jokić was still drinking three liters of coke a day and was selected in the 2014 NBA draft as the 41st young talent.

According to legend, Jokić drank his last coke on the first flight to Denver, then his meteoric career began – which, however, received little attention. Denver isn’t one of the major television markets, and the Nuggets’ games are rarely broadcast on a national network. So many miss the brilliance of his game. Shaquille O’Neal, himself a former towering center and now TV commentator, had to admit that he was able to watch the “Joker” in person for the first time in the finale – and was “very, very impressed”: “It’s a pleasure to watch him.”