Nikola Jokic has won back-to-back MVP awards by being extremely efficient with his play and carrying the Denver Nuggets to victories. He is averaging a triple-double this season, but some have accused the Joker of padding his stats.
Some NBA fans agreed with Kendrick Perkins when he said Nikola Jokic is focused on putting up numbers. But Bill Simmons hit back at that narrative in a tweet.
Just FYI — Jokic is the least stat-paddy guy since Duncan and Nash. I genuinely think he has no idea what his game stats are as the game is going on (and doesn’t care).
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) February 28, 2023
“Just FYI — Jokic is the least stat-paddy guy since Duncan and Nash. I genuinely think he has no idea what his game stats are as the game is going on (and doesn’t care),” Simmons wrote.
The facts back up Bill Simmons’ arguments, Nikola Jokic attempts fewer field goals per game on average than over 30 other players in the league. He gets his points by being highly efficient and always prefers to make the right play rather than scoring himself. This is evidenced by the fact that he also averages 10 assists per game.
To some degree, every superstar in the league pads their stats a bit. Nikola Jokic also has stayed in games a bit longer than he needed to at times to get the extra rebound or assist. But to call him a stat-padder is taking it a bit too far, he has made it clear that individual accolades simply don’t matter that much to him.
How Similar Is Nikola Jokic To Steve Nash And Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan is a great comparison for Nikola Jokic, although the big man won enough championships for Jokic to have a long way to go on that front. In the two seasons that he won consecutive MVP awards, Duncan averaged 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. This is eerily similar to Jokic’s stats this season, except, the Joker has double-digit assists as well.
Steve Nash is another great comparison. Nash led the Phoenix Suns to the best record in his first season back with the team, winning the MVP averaging just 15.5 points and 11.5 assists. He did so on clinical efficiency, he was always hovering around the 50-40-90 mark and hit it in the 2005-06 seasons. Nikola Jokic is more prolific than Steve Nash in terms of scoring, but the comparison still stands.
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