No other NBA player can control a basketball game like Jokic.
Nikola Jokic NBA Player Profile
- Team: Denver Nuggets
- Height: 6’11”
- Weight: 284 lbs
- Position: Center
- College: N/A (Mega Basket, Serbia)
Jokic isn't just an amazing offensive player; he's one of the best the game has ever seen, if not the best.
Last season, Jokić averaged 27 points per game and once again averaged a triple-double, leading the league in both rebounding and assists. These are the kinds of numbers that would have seemed almost unimaginable for a center just a decade ago. Yet for Jokic, performances like this have become routine.
What separates Jokic from the rest of the NBA is his basketball IQ and extraordinary passing ability combined with hyper-efficient scoring. At 6-foot-11, he sees the court like very few players. He can find cutters from the high post, throw passes through the smallest openings, and anticipate where his teammates will be before they even get there. He doesn't just create shots for others; he dictates how an entire offense operates.
Jokic is also an incredibly efficient scorer. He has a soft touch around the basket that lets him score inside at ease, a reliable midrange game, and the ability to punish defenders who give him space on the perimeter. While SGA has clearly surpassed him as a scorer, there was once an argument that the big man was the best scorer in the NBA. Like Doncic, he had a case for being the best scorer and passer in the league, and possibly the best rebounder. That level of all-around skill no one else in NBA history has possessed.
Unlike some of the league's other great offensive players, Jokic doesn't need to dominate the ball through isolation possessions to take over a game. His passing, screening, scoring, and decision-making all work together to elevate everyone around him.
While the 3x MVP struggled in the playoffs last season, based on what we’ve seen in the past, it’s safe to say that was more of an outlier than a flaw in Jokic’s game in the playoffs. It will be important to see whether Jokic can get back to his 2023 form as a three-point shooter. This area of his game has slipped over the last couple of seasons and has led to more scoring struggles than we’re used to from Jokic.
But when the Joker is on the court, one thing is certain. No matter who you put around him or who the coach is, your team instantly has a shot at being the NBA's top offense. So while Jokic’s defensive issues have held him back at times and his three-point shooting has been streaky, his transcendent offensive ability makes him one of the best players in the NBA.
