Nikola Jokic has quickly established himself as arguably the best player in the NBA over the last few seasons. While his injured Denver Nuggets teams didn’t stand a chance at deep playoff runs, Jokic became a 2-time league MVP in the last 2 seasons without co-stars in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr.
The last time the Nuggets were fully healthy, they made a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2020. They will hope to find that form again while Jokic is still in his MVP prime. One of the reasons Jokic has become an MVP-caliber player is because of his uncanny ability to pass the ball despite being 7 feet tall.
Jokic is one of the most gifted playmakers in NBA history and probably the best playmaker we have ever seen at that size. He once discussed why he plays a pass-first game after a game on TNT, where he revealed his love for passing the basketball and making 2 people happy with an assist instead of just 1 person with a bucket.
"Assists make two people happy, points just make one (person) happy."
-Nikola Jokic, quoting his coach who coached him in #Serbia 🇷🇸#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/Ao78bzaATQ
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) August 8, 2022
“I love to share the ball, that’s how I grew up and learned to play the game. I love to pass the basketball and my coach back home always told me, ‘assists make 2 people happy, points make only 1 happy.”
These tendencies in Jokic show why he is an admirable leader and why the Nuggets have been one of the most competitive teams in the NBA. They have added championship veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this season and will hope that Jamal Murray and MPJ return from their injuries at their previous level.
Jokic just signed one of the most expensive contracts in NBA history with Denver and is expected to stay with the team for the foreseeable future. If he can continue playing at the level we have seen him, the Nuggets will be a threat in the NBA for a long time.
