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Nikola Jokić keeps making his way into the elite group of all-time great basketball players. On Wednesday night, the extraordinary centre for the Denver Nuggets took home his third league MVP trophy. He is only the ninth player in NBA history to accomplish that milestone, which typically results in guys like LeBron, Jordan, Magic, and Wilt becoming household names.
If Jokić had received one more vote in 2023—when he came in second behind Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers—he would have become the first player to win the trophy four times in a row. He guided the historically unimpressive Nuggets to their first NBA title last season.
Jokić’s skill is hard to overestimate at this point in his career. The Serbian forward, 29, is a marvel of consistency, controlling opponents almost every time he steps onto the court. He is a genius at making plays, a prolific scorer, and a formidable rebounder.
He even hits approximately 35% of his three-pointers and converts more than 80% of his free throws annually. Jokić responds to the query, “What if Shaquille O’Neal could shoot?” by accomplishing all of that. The second-round choice from 2015 has become so incredibly talented that very few people even bother to discuss whether he is the greatest player currently playing. It’s taken for granted by now.
However, he might not be talented enough to return to the NBA Finals with the Nuggets this season. Denver is now down 2-0 in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series against the prolific Minnesota Timberwolves. Played on the Nuggets court, the first two games were startling. Not so much that the young Wolves could win a few games as it was Jokić and his colleagues’ seeming helplessness in stopping them from winning. The Nuggets’ 106-80 victory in Tuesday’s second game strangely didn’t reflect how thoroughly they were thrashed.
Minnesota took advantage of Jokić’s defence, which is the one aspect of his game that could be considered a weakness, throughout the first two games of the series. Though Jokić is a terrific athlete at 6 feet 11 inches, he puts a lot of effort into becoming a one-of-a-kind rebounder and scorer, which sometimes comes through when he is defending his own basket.
Jokić was the main defender on eight of the nine field goals that the Wolves made to finish out the game in Game 2. There were a variety of moves, including fadeaways, driving layups, dunks, and pullup jumpers, but what connected them all was Minnesota’s players’ fearlessness in pursuing the greatest player in the world.
Anthony Edwards, a star player for the Wolves, dribbled towards Jokić during a transition, paused for a pull-up three-pointer, and missed it in a symbolic sequence. But as the MVP watched, Minnesota centre Naz Reid just slid around Jokić, smashed to the hoop, and soared for a putback one-handed slam.
On Tuesday, Jokić finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 assists, demonstrating his productive nature even on his off days. He was, however, also confused. His shots fell short, his ingenious passes bordered on ridiculous, and the Nuggets were destroyed in an astonishing demonstration of offensive ineptitude. Known for his candid remarks in public, Jokić said, “I don’t know,” in response to a reporter’s question about the Nuggets’ strategy for Game 3 in Minneapolis.
Jokić needs to come up with a solution. The T-Wolves appear well-prepared to take on Jokić, who has averaged 5.5 turnovers per game this series, and the Nuggets are on the verge of collapse. Furthermore, Minnesota boasts not one, but TWO outstanding centres: four-time NBA defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert (who, unfortunately for the Nuggets, missed Tuesday’s game to attend his child’s birth) and Karl-Anthony Towns, who has turned around his long-maligned defence. With Edwards leading the way and the club’s self-described “Twin Towers” taking turns taking on Jokić, this team is as capable of countering him as anyone. And that’s not even counting the team’s oppressive defence (observe how Reid irritates Jokić in this particular sequence).
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