Nikola Jokic Is A Baller

The Joker is absolutely no joke when it comes to NBA playoff performance. While Nikola Jokic was a monster during the 202223 NBA season - a season where many will argue he should have won his third straight NBA MVP - the Serbian-born baller has taken it to another level entirely in the postseason.

We are at the point with Jokic - a player who is still just 28 years old - that we are now comparing him to the greatest basketball players of all time.

This postseason Jokic has averaged the following:

•30 Points

Per Game

•13 Rebounds Per Game

•10 Assists Per Game

Jokic has already set a new playoff record with eight triple-doubles this postseason, and he is hitting 3-pointers at close to 50%. No one has had an answer. The Los Angeles Lakers combo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis couldn’t stop Jokic. The Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant had no answer either. In 15 playoff games, the Nuggets are 12-3, and their 6-foot-11, 284-pound wrecking ball of a center is singlehandedly the reason why.

It is incredible to think that Jokic fell to the 41st overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft. Sure, he needed more seasoning as a player in Europe, but his physical stature was already developed. The Nuggets knew they would get a player with talent, but the way that Jokic’s offensive game has developed over the last decade is astonishing.

We all love stats and comparing today's greats with the greats we grew up watching. Countless stats already put Jokic’s playoff career up there with the likes of Larry Bird, LeBron James, and even Michael Jordan.

One such state is when you look at the highest combined per-game averages in the history of the NBA. This combines the three stats we used above (points per game, rebounds per game, and assists per game) into a number. It is basically a sum of a player’s traditionally focused offensive output.

Doing this puts Jokic up there with the elite of the elite:

•Fifth All-Time - LeBron James (44.7)

•Fourth All-Time - Michael Jordan (45.6)

•Third All-Time - Bill Russell (45.7)

•SecondAll-Time - Nikola Jokic (46.5)

•First All-Time - Wilt Chamberlain (51.2)

Jokic is a rare player. He combines heavy volume on offense with wildly impressive efficiency. He is a better three-point shooter in the playoffs than players like Ray Allen and Steph Curry (he is at 41% to their 40%), and only Dwight Howard beats Jokic in effective field goal accuracy of all players with over 1,000 playoff shots. Jokic might not be the defensive force that other greats of the game were (yet), but his offensive game has already made him one of the best to ever lace his shoes in postseason plan.

Article by Steve Wright