Nikola Jokic analysis | The 7-foot point guard (2019)
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- čas přidán 28. 03. 2019
- Nikola Jokic is a great passer, but just how great? What degree of offensive value does he deliver? And is he really a defensive liability? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Denver Nuggets star while incorporating analytics & stats to assess his overall impact.
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Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.
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In last 50 years ... 4 times Center have 15+ assist in 1 game.........all 4 times it was Nikola Jokic.......
Also recorded the fastest triple double in NBA history, had the perfect triple double with +30 point game and guess what, he is only 23 years old
my favorite player. You can build a franchise around this man. He is the foundation for championships.
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
Wilt Chamberlain still holding record of 21 assists in a game and average 8.6 a season as a center
@@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...
4 years later hes won a chip as the best player in the league, truly revolutionary
Jokic is kinda underrated just like all of the nuggets
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.
But he is delicious just like most nuggets
A little overrated. People are putting him in front of embiid which is insane
@@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!
Finally someone gave Jokic the credit he's due. Thanks for this video, we counted on you and you didn't disappoint.
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.
For me he is really underrated, second best maybe the best center in the league right now
Oh I think he's the best in the league right now. Nuggets record and roster attests to that.
@@troywilson8805 this is really discustible, but i think embiid ia better because of his defense, but in offense they're in the same level
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.
Jokic is quickly flying up the ranks of greatest big man of all time
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
Very good argument. Jokic is fantastic, but he´s the second best passing big ever. Best on his Position, fine, i give him that.
@@mk.5706 who is first ?? Tell me and i will show you wrong...
@@MegaAntras Sabonis
@@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?
@@MegaAntras There´s no need for. The little list you posted is perfectly fine. ;-)
I am so excited to see his career. His game is really built for longevity
please don't jinx him
@@calebchapel7835 i don't think I have that power haha, but yeah, I know what you mean
@Dobin Lim *looks at Bulls Rose*
Yeah his skills will help him as he grows older
Superb ballhandler but his physique doesn't look like he can play for 10 years on high intensity, there he looks quite a lot like Rik Smits
Watching this after Nikola won MVP...prescient analysis. A true treat to watch, gotta love Big Honey
Loool big honey pause
Aged like fine wine
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!
He's the best passer, not playmaker, but as passer he is the best
hopefully he only gets better as stated in the video, he can learn to be more aggressive with his playmaking
YES!!!!!
He was a point guard in high school silly
He is the best passer in the nba period! Most pg's these days are scorers anyways. None of them pass better than Jokic
And in 2 years he is now MVP, how quickly is he improving!
going for a 3rd in a row aswell
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.
Jokic is massively underrated in circles who don’t understand how impactful his passing threat really is... he is incredible
Although his shots are funky and weird.
@@Desi365 if they go in, they go in lol
Jokic is hall fame point guard in a center ‘s body
100%
Same goes for Lebron James.😀😀😀
DeAndre Page lebron no center
@@deandrepage1048 Not really
@@vinnie4538 Oh most definitely. 😀😀😀
Defensive toughness is Nikola Jokic's biggest weakness.
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.
Bravo!
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Wow
man that's so beautifully said... i'm lost for words
This was so nice to read. Well done sir!
My god, this passing genius, it's unbelievable
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 remember watching this when it came out, been on the jokic train ever since.
Who's here in April 2021 when Jokic is killing it and seems like the league MVP?
Two-time*
Three times in a row and possibly finals mvp
A great video to rewatch in retrospect.
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!
I started watching basketball again because of Him. He plays basketball like an expensive art! Everything is just beautifully executed .❤
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.
Our 2023 Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic
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
Couldnt have aged better
Meet Nikola Jokic, Steph Curry with a 4 inch vertical
More like Steve Nash with a 7 feet body lol
He can't shoot and dribble like curry just a bad uneducated comparison guy.
Ok mike korzemba
it's funny when people who dont get the joke call you uneducated
that vertical seems a little high
Best passer in league. Basketball virtuoso. Genius.
I watch any and everything that's about Jokic. So happy to be a Nuggets fan
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 :)
These videos are a work of art...
And Holly Cow I did not realize that Jokic was this good...
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 :)
Joker is a beast
@@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.
@@ballislife9924 Klay is also a much better defender than Kerr.
YES Jokic. Been waiting for this one ever since I discovered this channel.
I'm watching this after he willed the Nuggets to a championship and won the Finals MVP!!!
The Joker is really a fitting nickname
This aged perfectly
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!
I'm glad you mentioned his hands. It's a really underrated aspect of defense.
2 years later and the man is an MVP!
this man so underrated average nba fans only know center who can do fancy dunk or alley opp
My favorite center to watch
Jokic has become my favourite player to watch. So unique and creative. Love it
According to Jimmy butler, Adams is the strongest guy in the league, Jokić just backs him down easy lol
Jokic owns Adams. Not sure why. Jokic gets owned by Capela and Gobert.
Tom bones Jones during the series between philly and Toronto,he said Kawhi was the strongest player in the league 🤷♂️
@Olly Tropics that is a good analysis. Or it could be rock-paper-scissors.
Jonathan Bein this comment aged well 😂😂 Jokic killed Gobert the last 2 games
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.
man i really hope he wins MVP this season
Not even a contest. He is.
my favorite player to watch! great video
Pretty new to your channel. Love your content man, keep it up
It is almost unprecedented how well this analysis aged. "Low level MVP candidate" .... 2 years later... not bad sir. Not bad.
Jokic the only one who can bully Adams in the post
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
I didn't think it was possible
Giannis does too. Giannis bullies everyone including embiid or simmons.
@@Desi365 Not really. OMG (Oh My Giannis) doesn't actually 'bully' in the post that much. He just flies past everyone before they can even blink.
Jokic; the Honey Bear, the Joker. The best passer ever. 🃏
"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.
One thing about Joki's defense you didn't mention: he never over commits and he always takes the defensive rebound, as he doesn't have the verticality
he may be my favorite current player now after watching this, good upload
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! 🔥🔥🔥
Jokic really evolutionizing the way Centers are being played, passively or offensively!
Damn. When the clip of him posting Steven Adams played it had me in awe. He moved the immovable brick wall.
Jokic passing is a thing of beauty
Big Honey!! He is for real
Like fine wine
Thanks for the great insights. What a brilliant palyer Jokic is!!! Denver team looks really good in playoff
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
I haven’t been watching basketball as much lately. Thanks for bringing this guy into my attention. Very nice to see a player like him.
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: czcams.com/video/z_NLs9actPA/video.html
Coach Daniel also had some insight on Jokic back in January: czcams.com/video/wxzcADOswbg/video.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.
1:29 got totally confused about seeing french words while i was watching oh and we say "ce n'est pas un shoOt" a shoot in french not a shot
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.
@Joseph Kony - child kidnapper WarLord Prophet imagine praising awful spacing. couldn't be me
like 20-23 foot shoots are ugly and should be banned from basketball.
Hi Ben, great video! Where can I find 2018-2019 passer ratings?
been waiting on this one.. mans vision is superhuman like curry's touch.. it's a treat watch
Playofs
23.5 pg
12 rebs
9 ast
MVP!
We are OBSESSED with how pro athletes look physically. Have you seen the pics of Brady from the combine? If you can play you can play.
look at Federer
@CoLCoN 0 not too well versed with soccer, messi didn't look like a soccer player physically?
@@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
@@Jboooog18 It's football, only a few countries call it soccer
@@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.
czcams.com/video/LaUZ6qs8fm4/video.html
Check this video out it explains everything.
Awesome to rewatch this ! While watching his team cruise thru the playoffs 2023
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
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.
Unfortunately he's not as athletically gifted as Arvydas was imagine how much better he would be?
Other than his passing it's not really like sabonis. Sabonis was very athletically gifted
@@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.
Great in depth video of showing how great Jokic is and how great his future will be
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!
Thanks for the support -- hope you like the book!
This guys is something else. Tricky and crafty like no other
Great Video. Love Jokic
Would love to see how he measures out in the 2021 season in comparison to 2 years ago
and now hes about to get his first ring
glad to see your channel continue to grow!
u damn right AGE LIKE WINE 🍷
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!
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.
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.
Who else here after Jokic won his MVP? One of a kind player, a true unicorn
Predicted Jokic's MVP season a year early!
OMG, what would he look like playing with Steph and Klay? It would be the most beautiful game of basketball we've ever seen.
One of the best players you can see in the league... great talent !!!
Really good illustrated analysis. Thanks for the hard work you put into this.
In the playoffs they had him handling the ball coming off picks a lot it’s just crazy how he is literally there main playmaker hes just very unique
Lebron watching this with his agent, sayin: " go get me this dude" I need help going to Finals again
He's a champion now! Finals mvp
Here after he won the MVP clear cut. Hopefully a deep playoffs run this time.
Coming back to this and he’s now being considered as one of the greatest passers of all time…
Your analysis are SO good. I really love rethinking basketball like this. What an amazing job!
Watching this now really is something
I was just wondering when someone was gonna drop a Jokic video, dope vid
Great as always. Thank you, Ben! You make us smarter.
Another excellent video man. I really liked how you showed and broke down so many of his plays on the court that helped a lot putting together what you were talking about
We slowly and unnoticeably became a powerhouse.... without any superstar player. Future Dynasty forsure
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.
Am so proud that i had chance to meet this player privately
No homo
jonathan. *NBA triggered* you are fined 20k for that
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
Man's a modern day Magic Johnson. His passing is unbelievable.
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.
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.
You make the most well-papered Basketball video’s on the platform. Great job.
It’s crazy to think that Jokic is only 23 and has many years of this type of play in him.