Tonight, facing the Jazz, Nikola Jokic became the 6th player in history to reach the 80 career triple-double mark! The reigning double MVP set the tone with 31 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 blocks! While the Jazz had passed in the “money time”, it is he and Jamal Murray who will combine a 10-2 to snatch the victory (115-110).
But it was complicated against the Utah C team deprived of Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley or even Collin Sexton and Simone Fontecchio. Served permanently at the low post to challenge Kelly Olynyk or Walker Kessler, the Serb martyred them all evening. One shot, he engages his foot to finish near the circle. The next shot, he waits for the double to serve a player who cuts to the circle, or a shooter wide.
“If you want to defend on him one-on-one, he will score. If you want to double up, he’ll find the unmarked player. Now the question is whether we are going to put the shoot open… ” summarizes Mike Malone.
And when Nikola Jokic misses his shot, he takes the rebound to put it back in. Without forgetting a hint of luck, like on this 3-point shot at the very start of the match which hits the hoop, then the back of the circle before hitting the mark. In a press conference, his coach also insisted on the defense.
“He’s got 31 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists, but let’s talk about his defense” he asks. ” He makes four blocks, he deflects five balls, he contests ten shots… He is our best defender in this match, and for me, he had an impact on the match on both sides of the field. At the end of the game, they tried to send a lob pass to Vanderbilt, and Nikola was seen bending backwards to make up for the gap behind him. His hand-eye coordination is just amazing. His ability to break stocks like that and avoid a big basket.
| Nikola Jokic | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | DEN | 80 | 22 | 51.2 | 33.3 | 81.1 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 10.0 |
| 2016-17 | DEN | 73 | 28 | 57.8 | 32.4 | 82.5 | 2.9 | 6.9 | 9.8 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 16.7 |
| 2017-18 | DEN | 75 | 33 | 49.9 | 39.6 | 85.0 | 2.6 | 8.1 | 10.7 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 18.5 |
| 2018-19 | DEN | 80 | 31 | 51.1 | 30.7 | 82.1 | 2.9 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 7.3 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 20.1 |
| 2019-20 | DEN | 73 | 32 | 52.8 | 31.4 | 81.7 | 2.3 | 7.5 | 9.7 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2020-21 ★ | DEN | 72 | 35 | 56.6 | 38.8 | 86.8 | 2.9 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 8.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 ★ | DEN | 74 | 34 | 58.3 | 33.7 | 81.0 | 2.8 | 11.0 | 13.8 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 | DEN | 22 | 32 | 62.5 | 32.1 | 80.1 | 1.9 | 8.1 | 10.0 | 8.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 23.5 |
| Total | 549 | 31 | 54.6 | 34.4 | 82.8 | 2.6 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 19.8 | |
