Jokic, the 'slowness' and the challenge of a historic ring for the Nuggets
The image could not be more impressive.. Nor significant to value the status that Nikola Jokic has achieved in the NBA. Even beyond his two recent MVPs (this Joel Embiid course kept him from matching Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird for the only three with three in a row), there's respect among the stars.. And no one like LeBron James in this era.. Once the Lakers had been defeated in the Western Conference final by an impressive 4-0, the King took off his hat to the Serbian giant.
And he did it literally minutes after the umpteenth recital. “We were talking in the dressing room and we came to the conclusion that they are one of the best teams we have faced in the last four years.. They have intelligence, shooters, bench depth…. And of course, a player like the Joker. You can't make mistakes with him, and even when you defend him well, he gets the ball behind his head like Larry Bird and gets it in.. You can only do so…”. And LeBron took off his cap.
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As of tonight, Jokic faces the biggest challenge of an effervescent career in which he has been dominating the best league in the world even when he went to it without the announcement of other pearls.. Take the Nuggets to the first ring in their history, for which they will have to put an end to the rebellion of Jimmy Butler's Heat: those from Miami have made history, from the play in to successively fleecing Antetokounmpo's Bucks, the Knicks and, finally, the Celtics with that recent seventh in the Garden as a warning to boaters. «To those who think that this will be an easy series, I don't even know what to tell them anymore. It will be the biggest challenge of our lives, “warns Mike Malone, coach of the undisputed favorite.
Jokic's heaven comes to him at 28 years old, so far back and those legends of the chubby boy, of photos that go viral, of his addiction to Coca Cola or his love for horses. He could well have been named MVP again this season and he could well have become the first center in history to average a triple-double in the regular season: he was just a breath away, with 9.8 assists (24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds…), which shows something that his coach, Malone, warned about months ago. Far from the posturing, selfishness and egos that surround him so much, “he is ashamed to receive so much attention.”
Jokic, after receiving the MVP of the West. LandisAP
It may well be because of his European background. The one from Sombor went to the NBA from that talent factory run by super agent Mizko Raznatovic, who trained him at the Mega Bemax (he recently confessed that he could have ended up at Barça). He postponed his jump to the NBA for a season after being selected in the second round of the 2014 draft, with obvious overweight problems at the time. And little by little he increased his benefits until he turned the entire Colorado franchise around him.. Beyond his superlative numbers and records, it is Jokic's brain that makes him an unbeatable player. “Play chess on the court. His knowledge of the game is amazing.. Make the right decision 99 out of 100 times,” his technician surrendered.. And also, why not, your feet. “Nobody knows what he's going to do because his footwork is just incredible,” Nuggets legend Alex English defined him.
After five seasons without playoffs, the renaissance of the Nuggets -whose endless history revolved around figures like David Thompson, English himself and Carmelo Anthony…- began in 2019. Two seasons ago they collided with the Lakers in the bubble in the Western final and last year in the first round against the champion Warriors. That burden fell on Jokic, who in 2022 extended his contract with Denver until 2028 with a salary of 61.9 million.
A few days ago a New York Times headline summed up the fullness of the pivot: “Nikola Jokic has mastered the art of slowness”. In these playoffs, with a very short rotation in which again his best ally has been Jamal Murray, the Serbian has made the definitive leap in the absence of confirmation against the Heat. Now, in the 15 games played until the Finals, he averaged a triple double (29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists) with an amazing 47.4% in three-pointers (some of them as improbable as those remembered by LeBron). And all, even overcoming the controversies around him about the awarding or not of the MVP and incidents as strange as the shove to the owner of the Suns during the conference semifinals and resolved by both afterwards in an elegant way.