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Nikola Jokic, the man who should never have become (the future) MVP

Nikola Jokic for MVP? It is in any case a strong probability, even if the principal concerned is very far from making the propaganda. The “Joker”, with 72 regular games this season, coupled with his maddening averages of 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists is a real candidate for the title of best player of the year. However, Serbian has come a long way. Drafted in 41st position in Colorado in 2014, the pivot at 2m11 and 129kg was not destined to become an MVP. Yes Giannis Antetokoumpo and Steve Nash received the MVP award by having been drafted in 15th position, Jokic could become so by having been chosen much further. A destiny shaken by a change of state of mind, explained by his teammate, Kevin Durant of Missouri, Michael Porter Jr :

“Last year, and the year before, if he didn’t really feel like playing that day, he relaxed,” said teammate Michael Porter Jr. “This year it’s like s ‘he knew it was his team, he is going to go to the field every night and be the MVP ”.

At 26, the Serbian has become one of the monsters of the NBA, perhaps the best “big men” passer in history, the control tower as the creator of the Nuggets, all the more since Jamal’s injury Murray. He is already in the top 10 players with the most triple doubles in his career.

“People don’t realize he’s still so young,” said Will Barton. “It takes time to take on all these responsibilities”.

Over the years, Jokic has therefore learned, progressed. An almost inexplicable progression, but explained. Small step back.

Around November 2012, Nikola Jokic’s surprising statistics at Vojvodina, a small Serbian club, caught the attention of Misko Raznatovic, a European agent who also owned the Mega Vizura club, where the pivot will evolve some time later. Raznatovic wanted Jokic as a client although he had never seen him play. This is the only time in his career, he says, that he has hired a player without having seen him evolve before.

“I read an article in a sports newspaper, with results from junior leagues. I saw a guy had amazing stats two weeks in a row. I decided to go get it. I never do that. I always have a report, my collaborators, my scout team see it, give their opinion, I look, and then we say ‘OK, let’s go or we don’t’. Here, nothing. Nobody knew. Even I didn’t know anything. ”

Upon his arrival at Mega Vizura, Jokic bursts the screen. The club staff sees him as a playmaker in a pivotal body, which will lead to some tactical experimentation. The trainer, Dejan Milojevic, tests him as a passer in a pick and roll situation, something unusual for a player so tall and not very mobile. He changes his game for his pivot, experiments, because his player allows him to innovate. Jokic is changing the game.

“He had some skills that you can’t teach the player. … First of all, you have a guy who loves basketball, who loves to play basketball. Not just playing as a professional, he enjoys playing basketball like a game.… This joy that he even has now, I am really delighted to see. He’s still a kid who plays basketball. He plays a game like a kid, not like a pro. ”

In 2014, Jokic ran for the NBA draft. After seeing his agent withdraw his name because of the unlikely chance of being drafted, the Serbian returns to the front of the stage after the solicitations of several NBA teams, including the Nuggets, led by Arturas Karnisovas. However, the profile displayed by Jokic was not necessarily obvious in the eyes of franchises across the Atlantic.

“Honestly, I had a hard time convincing people in the NBA that Nikola could play in the NBA, especially at post 5.” adds Milojevic. “I always spoke of him as a pivot. Yes, he doesn’t play like a normal pivot, but his primary position is at post 5. And the people in the NBA had a hard time seeing him. They considered him more of a 4, but I had my reasons. He can defend better at Post 5, and he’s probably one of the best pick-and-roll players in the world. “

Nikola Jokic au Mega – Denver Post

Jokic will therefore be drafted in 41st position during the draft, behind a player like Jusuf Nurkic for example. He will stay one more year at the Mega: during his last season in Europe, he will be elected MVP of the Adriatic League. But at this point, no GM sees him as a potential MVP, which explains his position. Low expectations brought about by physical doubts. Jokic is more fat than muscular, which scares NBA franchises a bit.

Karnisovas : “A brilliant kid, blunderer, and a great family circle. All the questions around him were about his physical characteristics i.e. he is stronger / more vertical / faster, he has never been a great athlete, but he has always been long, had excellent vision of the game – you can’t teach that – high basketball IQ, great body control and balance. ”

A year after the draft, Jokic finally goes to Denver, to join the workforce of the Nuggets. With a 41st place the year before and doubts about his physical profile, expectations for this player are not essentially high for a first NBA season. But his last year with the Mega allowed him to show some very interesting things. However, before being able to show his qualities on the American courts, he will first have to adapt to the NBA, and blend into the mold of the workforce of Mike Malone :

“I remember he came for training camp (in 2015) and he was just so happy to be there” for Will Barton. “He was happy to be part of the team. He was running around, you could see he was still a child, still laughing and joking. Always to bring positive energy. ”

Once again, Jokic’s destiny did not happen the way it was supposed to. The Nuggets had no plans at all to get him to play so early, as much. But a wound of Jusuf Nurkic will turn everything upside down. Jokic will play 55 games in his NBA rookie season. At the end of the season, Jokic and Nurkic share the Denver frontcourt to experiment with compositions.

At the dawn of the following season, a drastic change will take place. Mike Malone, at the player’s request, will move Jokic from starting alongside Nurkic to off bench. A few months later, the reverse will happen, and this time around, Nurkic will be relegated to the bench, and for good:

“(Nikola) was frustrated, he didn’t think the association between him and Nurkic was going well, but more importantly, that she wasn’t helping the team.” according to Mike Malone. “It wasn’t just about Nikola and Nurk, it was about the team, he wanted to help the team. And that’s what you love about Nikola. It’s never about him. … At that point, he was on the rise to becoming an MVP player. He was ready to say, “Get me out of the five major, start someone else, let me off the bench, let me play my game.” And, soon after, we made the decision to make Nikola our starting hub, and we haven’t looked back since. ”

At the end of this season, Denver will finish with the 4th best offense in the NBA. Over the following years, they will never drop lower than 7th. And Jokic has a lot to do with it, he has never stopped progressing in terms of his offensive contribution, with this 2020-2021 exercise at the top. In the meantime, to see, perhaps, even better the next seasons.

“He showed me first that he could play, and I was like, ‘Wow, he can do some things.’ Barton said. He can be a spinner. And then he went from that to “This guy is good. He can be a holder. And then it was: “This guy could be the best player on the team, an All-Star”. And then he became an All-Star. Then it was like, ‘now he’s a superstar’… He didn’t skip a step. “

In 2016-2017, he will finish second in the MIP title. Two years later, he would have his first All-Star selection, then had his first playoff victory against Spurs a few months later. That season, he finished fourth in the MVP race. Then will come another All-Star selection. An example for all his teammates, who see him surpass himself every day:

For Barton, “He trains every day. He trains every day, even on rest days, it doesn’t matter if we have a series of games to play, whatever. He hasn’t taken a single day off, and it shows in his game, he dominates. I think what drives him today is his desire to be a great player. He finally sees her [cette grandeur]. Everyone was telling him that, but I think he finally sees her. I think he knows he has a great responsibility not only to the team, but also to the franchise, being our star player. I think in his country he is worshiped, he is so big there, he does not want to give up his country. ”

Denver Post

“I was training on a basket, he arrived and he left on another ground so as not to disturb me” raised Austin Rivers. “It seems like something very, very normal, but you should see how it works. He doesn’t care. He don’t act like a star he is..how can I act like a (asshole) when this guy has everything and he doesn’t act like one [une star] ? He sets a standard for the team. ”

Jokic is a huge competitor, who wants to win everything, all the time. For Paul Millsap, even if he doesn’t “show it, whether he says it or not. He wants to win, and he wants to win big ”. A devouring ambition that could well bring him to the individual Grail in the big league. A situation that pushes Will Barton, who has always known him in the NBA, to throw a blow in the retro.

“What I would say now, looking back, is see he’s one of the very best NBA players, if not the best, and compare to what he was when he arrived.” for Will Barton. “I saw him, during the first training camp, being the water carrier for other players. Seeing him go from that to where he is now is (damn) amazing ”.

Via Denver Post

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