41 - but what came next is where this became historic.

That’s a major win when you pick a player like that at No. Both players had similar rebounding rates, equal field goal percentages, defensively they were near identical - Jokic was the best player on a bad team, so was Vuvecic. He played a ton like Nikola Vucevic, albeit with a better passing game. The growth was a product of immense training and belief that he could become Denver’s focal point.Įarly in his career it seemed Jokic was on track to hit his highest-level draft comparisons. This was not a case of the Nuggets taking Jokic and immediately stunning the NBA. It’s easy to forget that this didn’t happen overnight It took several years of work to improve this element of his body, but now Jokic is much leaner and well-defined as a 260 pound, 28-year-old than he was as a teenager. There wasn’t much muscle definition, he carried weight in his upper body, and looked sluggish because of it. Jokic weighed in at 255 pounds prior to the draft, but it was a doughy 255. Nobody is going to mistake Jokic for an elite athlete, even now - but a lot like Tom Brady his IQ and feel for the sport is at such a profound level that incremental increases in athleticism turned him into an absolute monster. It’s a talent you’re either born with or not, but playing in Serbia meant Jokic didn’t have access to something most draftees take for granted: Proper strength and conditioning.Įven a mid-level major college has superior access to strength and conditioning to what Jokic had in Serbia. It’s widely accepted that players simply can’t get better athletically. However, one aspect that got lost in the draft shuffle was the potential for Jokic to grow. Could Jokic contribute? Sure, because he was an efficient scorer - but the defensive liabilities were so profound that there seemed no way he could play 30 minutes a game, let alone become a starter - and the idea of him becoming one of the greatest big men in NBA history was hilarious. The most favorable player comparison was a poor man’s Nikola Vucevic, who was coming off a middling double-double season with the Magic. Jokic had below-average athleticism, he wasn’t particularly quick, he wasn’t a great jumper - on top of all this he struggled to stay in front of forwards in the Adriatic League, suggesting he would get eaten alive on the defensive end by athletic NBA front court players.Īll this projected to a smart player with NBA size, but without NBA athletic ability. Nothing remarkable jumped off the tape other than those traits, and the liabilities were considerable. The biggest positive to his game as a prospective rookie was his basketball IQ and passing ability, as well as a knack for shooting. The only way to see brilliance in Jokic’s pre-draft tape is with a biased eye, and with the gift of hindsight. It’s impossible to quantify how unlikely it was that Joker became this player - so how the hell did this happen? The draft reports on Nikola Jokic Jokic is the Tom Brady of the NBA - the throwaway pick who became legend. Instead he’s become arguably the best player in the NBA right now, and headed towards one of the best careers in the history of the NBA.

This was a guy who was pegged to be a 9th or 10th option, likely lasting a handful of years in the NBA before heading to Europe. Joker being on the verge of winning his first NBA championship is an opportunity to appreciate just how much he’s evolved since being the No.

It’s the culmination of an incredible 10-year career that still feels like it’s just getting started, and came about in the most incredible way. Nikola Jokic is headed to his first NBA Finals, and all the momentum is with Denver.

Nikola jokic nba