Nikola Jokic rips the Nets for career high 41
While all the buzz has surrounded the meteoric rise of Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis, eastern Europe’s lesser known secret, Nikola Jokic, has been silently dominating his competition. You may not have been watching, but the Serbian center has been spending the start of his season dazzling Denver Nuggets fans with his nifty passing and silky smooth low post game.
Tuesday night’s fireworks were just the next chapter in the growing legend of Nikola Jokic. Though he’s established the ability to score the ball with an array of savvy post moves and spot up jumpers, heat checks and scoring eruptions haven’t exactly been his calling card. Safe to say, it was more than a bit of a surprise when the pass first center exploded for a career high 41 points against the Brooklyn Nets in a 112-104 victory.
It’s not that no one believed in The Joker’s ability to score 40 points in a game, it’s more that he stunned us by breaking out of his role as an unselfish distributor to take over the game with killer scoring instincts that we never knew he possessed in the first place. I suppose we should’ve known by now that he prefers taking things slow and unveiling a new piece of his game one laborious step at a time.
Much like everything else in his young career, the former 41st overall pick of the 2014 draft has steadily inched his way towards an extended range, expanded role and legitimate star status. Although four time All-Star Paul Millsap joined their roster this summer, it’s been Jokic who has emerged as Denver’s best and brightest player on offense. To get an idea of just how true that statement is, the endlessly imaginative court genius currently leads the Nuggets in points, rebounds and assists per game, and he’s only 22 years old.
After spending an extra year playing overseas to polish his game, Jokic came into the NBA being viewed as little more than a role player. Despite flashing signs of brilliance and high basketball IQ in his rookie campaign, he was overweight, out of shape and oftentimes overmatched by his peers. However, through his commitment to becoming great, determination to improve and the Nuggets’ patience to see out his development, the foreign-born baller has methodically groomed himself into a jack-of-all-trades on the court.
His defense remains an ongoing struggle, but equipped with improved mobility gained from the nearly 50 pounds he’s shed since the beginning of his rookie year, he’s little by little evolved into a serviceable defender. He’ll never be able to keep up with the speedier guards that make their living on the perimeter, but if he ever learns to play the deceptively efficient Tim Duncan-esque post defense of the heavy-footed legend before him, god help the rest of the league.
Whatever the future holds for the affectionately nicknamed Big Honey, he will continue to wreak his leisurely havoc on the NBA this season. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled. You won’t miss his lumbering strides across the floor, but if you blink, you may just lose out on one of his patented rapid-fire dimes.
