The Denver Nuggets won Game 3 against the Miami Heat in a convincing fashion with a final score of 109-94. There’s no doubt that this was a good victory for the team that helped them get back homecourt advantage in the NBA Finals.
It seems as though part of the reason that the team won Game 3 was Nikola Jokic’s leadership, and it was recently revealed that he made a speech after the team lost Game 2. DeAndre Jordan claimed that it caught everyone by surprise to see him that vocal.
“It caught us all by surprise. It was unexpected,” Jordan said after Game 3, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. “When Nikola says something, everybody’s awareness is heightened. I always compare him to a guy like Tim Duncan. He’s never really super boisterous, but when he does speak, it speaks volumes. Me, Jeff Green, DJ, Ish [Smith], KCP, we’ll always give our two cents on things we see during the game, but Nikola saying something elevated the message. I’ve been on him more about being more vocal, and even in tonight’s game, he was extremely vocal and it was good for our team.”
DeAndre Jordan then revealed the contents of Nikola Jokic’s message to the team, noting that the superstar stated that the team needed to be locked in.
“His message was basically that we can’t be relaxed,” Jordan revealed. “We’ve got to have more fight, more energy, and pay attention to the game plan. And leading up to Game 3, in practice and shootaround, everyone was hyper-focused, and that transferred over into the game.”
There is no doubt that Nikola Jokic has been leading the team with his play in the Finals, and he is currently averaging 33.3 PPG, 14.0 RPG, and 9.3 APG against the Heat. However, it is clear that vocal leadership is key to a team’s mentality and morale as well, and Nikola Jokic’s speech definitely helped the team win Game 3.
Draymond Green Previously Explained What Makes Nikola Jokic A Great Leader
There are other examples of Nikola Jokic being a great leader. In fact, Draymond Green previously explained why Nikola Jokic’s leadership is elite using the center’s body language.
“He (Jamal Murray) had a chance to tie it up and send it to overtime,” Green said. “But he step back, shot the ball, and missed. And what you will see in most situations like that, with a lot of guys is they drop their head, they slump their shoulders. Joker (Nikola Jokic) clapped his hands. But it was a clap like, ‘Ah, he barely missed’… wasn’t like, ‘I should’ve gotten the ball.'”
There’s no doubt that body language is important for leaders of any kind. Nikola Jokic is clearly a player that doesn’t get too high or too low, and hopefully, this even-keel approach helps him win the championship.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
