I’m a nuggets fan all the way but the other night against the warriors he was a fucking joke never seen him play so bad. It’s like he wasn’t even trying to get rebounds or guard his man. And yes I know there the best in the league, who the fuck doesn’t
@@Ozzy_boi20 bro its called bad day...and all players have it... specially leaders.... and if you take fact that he lead Denver in every aspect of the game.... and have second best impact on the team in league...with only 23 years... then we must be happy that he was in that mood maybe just 1 game in season.... he is MVP candidate for reason.... i just cant get it why people keep sleep on him.... he is so uniqe high BB IQ and extra pair of eyes on his back... and im afraid its coz he isn't in big market team... I just cant imagine what would be if he was in LAL, Huston OKH or GSW...
In my opininion he and Joel Embiid are the best big man in the league right now. With Joel being more of a scorer and Jokic a playmaker. Its hard deciding who's the better man this season.
@@kristian9014 but he's leading the nuggets to the second seed in the western conference, i still think that embiid is a better player because of the defense, but jokic is almost averaging a triple-double 20 pts 10 reb and 8 ast (something like that) and that's incredible
@@kristian9014 other than defense, what does Embiid really have on him? Jokic has a less talented team around him and hes leading that less talented team to a higher seed in a harder conference. Embiid is great, but the fact is he is doing less with more. His team has 4, maybe even 5 borderline all stars!
He said he's the best ever, I think if you talk about giving someone the credit they deserve, maybe he's not giving Arvidas Sabonis the credit he deserves.
Yeah fair enough, I'm just more inclined to go with impact based on my opinion of the team. I'm probably understating Milsap as usual but that 76er team is stacked.
In NBA history only two players have 3000 Pts 2000 Reb and 1000 Assist in first 3 season... 1. Larry Bird 2. Nikola Jokic Also this young unique player has fastest triple double in history... 14 min....give him some credit
@@boooooyaka do you know how much Sabonis have assist in best season he played?? Half of Jokic had this season.... so explane to me how 4 ast per game is better then 8 per game?
Nikola Jokic is a once in a generation type of talent. Us Denver natives have known this since his rookie year. Jokic is only 24 and he's already arguably the greatest Denver Nugget of all time. I never thought I would ever again witness another player that reminded me so much of Larry Bird. I've seen some videos on youtube of supposed "basketball experts" comparing Doncic to Bird? Ummmm... NO. By far, the closest player in todays game to being Larry Bird's modern day doppelgänger is easily Nikola Jokic and it's not even close. The fact that he plays the 5 doesn't matter one bit. Jokic's intangibles?,..His unmatched BB IQ, his court vision, his ability to see passing lanes that no one else sees, his Manning-esque picture perfect accurate full court outlet passes, his uncanny knack to position himself in the perfect place to grab rebounds, his incredible selflessness.... to a fault? The way he gets every one of his teammates involved? His ability to control an entire game without scoring over 10 points? How he posts up and backs down his defenders? Even the mechanics of his jump shot! The way he shoots over his head so he'll never get blocked? Having the softest of touches, knowing the subtle nuances of the backboards and rims when shooting runners, floaters or one-handers in the paint? Everything I just mentioned was how Larry Joe Bird played the game of basketball... to a tee. Just like what Tom Heinsohn said about Bird years ago?,..the same quote absolutely applies to Jokic. "He's playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers." Sometimes I find myself doing double takes frozen in awe from some of the things he pulls off..multiple times in almost every game he plays in...the same thing Bird used to do to me while watching him play over 3 decades ago. Special players that have these kinds of intangibles have always been very rare. Throughout the history of the NBA there's only been a handful of them. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to witness it again, especially the way the game is now played in today's league.... But then this young, unathletic, slow, doughy looking Serb comes along out of nowhere..almost 3 decades after The Legend retired... and single handedly, completely shatters the NBA mold again...reminding everyone of just how beautifully the game of basketball can be played. For NBA fans that are older and were lucky enough to have lived during Larry Bird's phenomenal career? Watching Nikola Jokic play basketball is the equivalent of witnessing Haley's Comet twice.
Finally somebody has said Jokic is one of the best passers in the league, not harping on about hes good for a center!!! Fed up of commentators going on about that hes an excellent passer for a center, take his position out of equation an just state hes is top 5 passer in the league out OF EVERY POSITION!
And in 4 years he is now an NBA champion, the best player in the world, and is breaking Wilt Chamberlin records. Unbelievable foresight by Thinking Basketball.
Man I just saw him play yesterday he plays the game so smooth and easy it's crazy how he plays just pure skill no big muscles just pure skill my favorite player
no muscles? Well... he does not focus on that or train that hard, but you would be scared of how strong a bulky 7foot guy, moving and pushing players around like that, can be.... . He just doesn't jump high
I'm glad you spoke about Jokic's spacial awareness because it is next level. His anticipation, reactions and ability to manipulate and confuse defences is just astonishing. His Basketball IQ is amazing, especially for someone at only 24.
@Grammar Corrector Bball IQ comes naturally to some players from a young age. If you read the 2014 analysis of Jokic on nbadraft.com they said his bball IQ is his greatest strength. Other players who aren't as gifted in this aspect have to work on their decision-making and anticipation a lot more (i.e. LeBron).
The scary part about having that BBIQ that young as well with basketball skills and NBA measurables (has a 7'3" wingspan to go with his 7 foot vertical stature) is that kind of player has a much reliable ceiling than another purely built on 'potential'. Because those kind of players will keep adding something to their game while the super athlete with limited BBIQ isn't guaranteed to add anything substantial to add value.
Yes he is underrated defender, he's just using different approach, actually using his IQ to create a chaos for opposing team, actually stats show Denver is much better defending with Jokic on the court.
The fact that Jokic is barely even mentioned in the MVP conversation is utter bs. Do you think Denver would even be close to the top of the conference standings without him?
It's even crazier that he won 5 out of 7 games in a team WITHOUT THREE STARTERS.. I agree, in fact I think the MVP should be between Giannis and Jokic.. Harden kinda lives through an old glory remains ATM if you ask me.. Yes he's doing crazy numbers and stuff but the FG% doesn't seem that much mindblowing to me.. :P
he is the main reason why ppl from Serbia like Nuggets. We were all for the Kings while there were Divac and Stojakovic but we got our new fav team now :)
Jokic looks like an overgrown fast food chain attendant with athletic genius. He's hilarious to watch and turned immediately into my fav player 😂 Btw these vids are smart and well put together, I dig them!
Jokic is an unbelievable player, your analysis of his game was spot on. Great use of footage to compliment points and the flow of the video between subjects was perfect. Keep up the great work!
There was a vid in which the title was "make a 5 man team to win every game", my team was: Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Jokic, Bird, Shaq :) But yes, you can see the idea behind it = have 3 super big guys that can ofensive-rebound from nearly every single position and have 2 crazy (all-time highest ?%) 3 pt shooters.. Jokic/Bird (albeit somewhat slower) being facilitators (not like Curry couldn't do it, in fact he's got quite above-average PG handles, just not elite).. But yeah = you get the idea, even if everyone has a bad night you STILL could lob-pass Shaq in the paint when things get THAT bad :P I know, sounds/is super cheesy AF but at the end of days all you really would need is an unstoppable rim dominator like Shaq, elite 3pt shooters and people that have high chance to ofensive-rebound (and elite assist) to provide more space for more shots to take Nowadays think it might be better to have Steve Nash as #2 position cause better passer and more all-round than Kerr, but hey = 45% for shooting 3s? gotta be something worth to take :)
@@VArsovski10 I would take Klay instead of Kerr as he is a better shooter in my opinion. You gotta remember Kerr didn't take that much threes compared to the shooters now and Klay is the player that can get the hottest in NBA history.
Awesome video! I love the Joker's play style. I've been showing my buddies jokic highlights for two years! :) Also your video on stat inflation is the truth, homie! 🔥🔥🔥
"These hands are like snakes, constantly sniping at the ball" -Thinking Basketball. Thank you for the analogy, I definitely know what sniping snakes look like as hands lmao. Great vid doh.
WONDERFUL! One small country, Serbia, which has a population of New York settlements, has such athletes. We have basketball players, tennis players, volleyball players, scorers, swimmers, water polo players, football players.
It's fun going back and watching this, seeing how good he already was here, while also seeing how much better he is now. The passing has only improved, he now scores more on broken efficiency, and the defense is similar, but I think clearly a little better
@@Jboooog18 Messi is 5'6, Suffered from Growth hormone deficiency and Has Average physicality, Average speed and Average jumping. He definitely didn't look like a football player
@@utthamprakash4976 Definitely not average speed (one of the best acceleration abilities ever) and his physical traits actually define him as a player. He doesn't look like much but his stature is actually the key. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LaUZ6qs8fm4.html Check this video out it explains everything.
Enjoying watching Nicola and his team-mates - every time he gets a ball they RUN FOR THEIR LIVES!! Opening-up knowing that pass will hit one of them. Nothing better to improve ones shooting stats. There is not a single NBA player who would not love having him in their team!
Love this channel man, can’t wait to see it grow with time. As for Jokic, holy sh** if this man focuses on his conditioning for an offseason good lord that is terrifying
The 2 videos on Jokic are EXPLODING thanks to the nba video!! I hope people watch other videos too. It was such a master idea to talk about Joker for the nba because his 2 videos are some of his best content ever.
This is a great video, covered his whole game really well. You can tell that you did your research and didnt make the video without being fully knowledgeable about his entire game
Hey man, I love your channel and your articles. I know how much you've grinded to get to this level of aptitude....the least I could do was buy your book as a sign of support. Keep up the great work man!
He worked with Dejan Milojevic while he was at Mega Vizura. Dejan was one of the best on C position in Partizan and Serbia at the time. That also had an impact on his career
Huge Nugget fan here and this analysis was on point. Nikola isn't an athletic freak but his game is above the neck. He does use his size to his advantage but I'd like to see him get is physique a bit more lean to help with the physicality of the game.
Jokic is the second coming of pre-injury Arvydas Sabonis, the one America never saw. Just more of a passer and less of a scorer (for now), but the same type of genius. I'm just glad he plays for a coach that actually tries to use his unique skills and allows him to play inside the arc with the ball in his hand, instead of just defaulting to use him as a roll man in an endless string of 5 out PnR.
@@ivkekosovo 95 was already late for sabonis. I've heard that in mid 80's before the injuries hit him he was one of the greatest centers ever on the level of russell,wilt,kareem,shaq etc. that type of dominance. Like a 7'3 Jokic just way more athlethic.
Actually we don't really know how good Sabonis was 'pre-NBA' because the level of competition was vastly lower, thus would he have been so impressive with a young David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, or Hakeem Olajuwon guarding him? We'll never know, but Jokic is doing it against INSANE levels of competition. We've never seen the level of height, speed, and athleticism we see in todays power players (the power forward and center positions). There were usually a few 'studs' like Shaq, Yao, etc. at the same time, but now? Damn.... you can just keep going... OMG (Oh My Giannis) is just a freak of nature basically a modern day version of Wilt Chamberlain. I mean think about it KD is a 7 foot small forward.... Porzingis is such a deadly jump shooter you have to play him like a SG and he's 7'2". Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, even a sunsetting Dwight Howard has rejuvenated his career by dropping some weight to get quicker. You add in kids like Karl Anthony-Townes, Bam Bam Adebayo, Rudy Gobert, LaMarcus Aldridge, Steven Adams (as a defensive monster), etc. etc. It just isn't the same level of competition and Jokic is head and shoulders a better player than nearly all of them and as important for his team's success as any of them.
Update: I went on the Locked on Nuggets pod to talk about this video and explain where Jokic separates from greats like Sabonis and Walton: www.denverstiffs.com/2019/4/3/18293342/just-how-good-is-nikola-jokic-and-what-can-he-do-to-get-even-better If you want more info on the Nuggets read-react offense, Denver Stiffs put out a great video on the topic: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-z_NLs9actPA.html Coach Daniel also had some insight on Jokic back in January: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wxzcADOswbg.html Also, some nuggets I cut for time (see what I did there): -Jokic actually grew up playing lots of PG -Jokic is a strong defensive rebounder which adds a bit to his defensive value -Denver's offense does take advantage of his game, but it's a game that fits very well with elite talent. Plumlee is actually a very good high-post passer, and I think on a team with a more traditional backup and better shooters, Jokic's impact numbers would be even better.
Trolly guy is gonna troll, but the comparisons to those three past great passing bigs are interesting. Sabonis was obviously far more athletic in his pre-NBA career, and for his era matched Jokic as a shooter and ballhandler. He was nowhere near as creative a passer as Jokic, but obviously whipped plenty of good passes. Sabonis is an all-time great who is hard to compare because his best years weren't in the NBA. I'm not prepared to say Jokic is better than Sabonis was but I will say he's a better passer already. Divac is in some ways a better comparison to Jokic in that they are similar players (and hey look, both Serbians). But honestly Jokic is better in almost every way. Jokic shoots a higher percentage from 2 and from the line, a vastly higher percentage from 3, is a better ballhandler, and despite Divac's great passing, Jokic is miles ahead of him. Divac was a better shot blocker (not great though) and slightly better defensive rebounder. That's about it. Walton was closer as a passer, and was used as the centerpiece of his offense early in his career like Jokic is. Still, despite getting the ball as much as Jokic does, he didn't rack up nearly the passing numbers that Jokic does. He was a great passing big for sure, but not the passer Jokic is. bkref.com/tiny/kZ644 The only other guy who springs to mind is Wilt, who actually led the league in assists one year. Wilt was obviously a more impactiful player than Jokic overall, but his passing was a byproduct of his overall dominance. Jokic is clearly a better passer in isolation.
He's without a doubt the best big man passer of all time. He's also just a great passer PERIOD. One of the best I have ever seen. Honestly better than most point guards in the league.
he may be weak on defense but that's were a role player comes in, he may not be that athletic enough to jump higher and be a reliable rim protector or to slide laterally on defense, it still does not outweigh all those positive things he can do inside the court. jokic uses his high basketball IQ to compensate on his weaknesses and that IQ is the reason why he became an all star and and denver has surprised everyone on there performance this season.
I was fully prepared to shred this video. How dare you try to compare Jokic to the best bigs when it comes to passing. That being Arvydas Sabonis and Bill Walton. But HOLY COW!!!! Jokic is the real deal. His outlet passes would make Wes Unseld blush. I am admitting, and proud to say, that Jokic is the best passing big ever.
man i live in china so due to the time difference i dont watch a ton of basketball but i do try to watch as much of the playoffs as i can and this past playoffs was the first time i really got to watch this guy play ball and man, i immediately fell in love with his game. so beautiful to watch and it only took one game for me to become a fan of his
I love your analysis and presentation.I can see you getting into the analytical department of an NBA team.I Love the way you breakdown the game of these players and back it up with statistical info
Jokic having all that weigh despite being pretty mobile in the post along with the passing and his offensive gifts makes me surprised that there is any doubters that say there's a better big than him in the league rn.
You know what i was thinking the other day? I was thinking about how many good Euro's are in the NBA right now. Jokic, Luka, Giannis...i could keep going on and on. Euroleague players are getting better the competition is better then the NCAA. If i was a GM in the NBA i would be scouring teams overseas for talent. I think in the future they're going to keep getting better. They don't put up huge stats it's different the top players only average like 12-14 pts a game but don't be fooled these guys can play. Once they get in the NBA it's easier to score like Luka says. There's a lot more space and team's don't typically play hard defense. Anyways, yeah i'd look overseas for talent you could wind up with some really good players that aren't on everyone's top 10 mock drafts.
A lot of these euroleague players have much better feel for the game since theyre playing adults all the time and not inexperienced kids. A lot of them tend to be smart even without the ball because an european style team is all about ball movement since there is a lot more game planning. They also have amazing vision to read plays. Im excited to see team Serbia play especially if we see Milos, Bogdan and Jokic. Seeing luka play I knew from the jump he was going to be a sure thing.
@@NationOfChalcol Yeah i agree. Jokic plays a very similar style to Luka. They both possess great vision and can find the open man passing the ball. The future looks very bright for both of them.