Nikola Jokic earned his seventh consecutive All-Star nomination this season, showing just how good he has been over the last few years. Jokic has been in the NBA since 2015 and earned his first All-Star nomination during the 2018-19 NBA season. Since then, he has been an All-Star every season.
However, for all of Jokic’s success, he has never had an All-Star teammate on the Nuggets. He has been the sole All-Star for the Denver Nuggets since 2019, with no other teammate earning a single nomination alongside the Serbian star. While players like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. have come close to being nominated, they have never actually been named All-Stars before.
Just to clarify, this doesn’t mean that Jokic hasn’t played with players who have been All-Stars. Jokic has had teammates such as Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, Roy Hibbert, Isaiah Thomas, Paul Millsap, and DeMarcus Cousins. However, none of these players earned an All-Star nomination while being teammates with Nikola Jokic.
This stat really puts into perspective how dominant Jokic has been during the last few years. Jokic is a three-time MVP, and could even earn a fourth this season, on top of that, won an NBA championship and Finals MVP just two years ago. To think that he has achieved all this in the NBA without ever having an All-Star teammate is truly incredible.
It just goes to show how good Jokic is at maximizing the players around him. Look no further than Russell Westbrook. Many felt that after his stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers, Westbrook was past it and could no longer contribute at a high level for a competitive NBA team.
But since joining Jokic and the Nuggets, Westbrook has transformed into a very effective role player. Russ and Jokic especially have formed quite a connection, which a compilation of their play together shows very well. Jokic himself has defended Westbrook, saying that the Lakers and Clippers never gave him a chance to be himself.
Westbrook himself has thanked Jokic and the Nuggets for the opportunity to be himself. This season, Jokic is averaging 29.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, while shooting 56.7% from the field, 47.2% from the three-point line, and 81.3% from the free-throw line. Jokic knows just how good he has been this season, even claiming that he is playing the best basketball of his career.
The fact that Jokic is putting up such insane numbers and carrying the Nuggets with no All-Star is a fact that shouldn’t be lost on anyone. He has been the most important factor in the Nuggets’ performance this season, as they currently sit fourth in the Western Conference with a 28-19 record.
Going forward, the Nuggets must try and land another star player to give Jokic a better chance at competing for an NBA championship. If not, much like Charles Barkley said, they would be wasting his prime.
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