Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić has reached a new level on offense this season

LeBron asked Stephen Curry how to slow him down before the 2015 NBA Finals. Curry, at the time, was about win his second consecutive MVP award. James famously replied, “The way you slow down me.” “You can’t.In fact, NBA teams have tried and failed to solve the opposite superstar riddle since NBA ages. James was right. You can’t slow down or stop the best players when they are on fire. And oh my lord did Nikola Jokić have it going Wednesday night when he became just the fourth player in history, and the first this century, to score at 55 points on 78% shooting. Somehow, the numbers don’t do justice to how unbelievable Jokić was in this game. Four of the 18 shots he took hit the rim. Not including four bank shots and a dunk, Jokić connected on nine shots, eight jumpers and a jump hook, outside of the restricted area. Eight of the nine shots were swishes. Four of his five three-pointers came from these swishes. 
This highlight package did not include his most impressive move of the evening. Take a closer look at this teardrop. 

This is a 7 foot, 300 pound giant lowering his speed from full to let a feather float over the fingertips of one of the most acrobatic athletes in the league. Even the best players in the world could not swish that shot more than 10% out of 100 attempts. Jokic regularly does these things. Indeed, it’s not even about whether Jokić makes his shots anymore. It’s how he takes his shots. Curry’s refusal to leave the court before being drafted was the subject of a story. The standard was portrayed as impossible, and only the greatest of all shooters could meet it. But that’s the bar we might be at with Jokić, whose touch, from everywhere on the floor, has probably passed his passing as the single-best skill of the best basketball player on the planet. The numbers are absurd. Understanding that it’s only been 11 games, those numbers have never even been approached by anyone with anything close to Jokić’s shot diet over a full season. These numbers are reserved historically for players who only attempt dunks or layups. Take a look at Jokić’s range breakdown, per NBA.com shot tracking. These percentages are staggering. This guy has hit 86 out of 110 shots in the touch range of 0-9feet. The 15-19 foot range is, analytically speaking, the worst shot in basketball, and Jokić literally hasn’t missed from there yet. He is 7 for 7. The 50-40-90 club — 50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from the free-throw line — is reserved for the most exclusive shooters in history, but Jokić is on track to start a brand new club on an even higher floor: the 60-40-80 club. No player has ever reached these numbers, which means someone who can actually take 3s. At this rate, it would be surprising if Jokić didn’t do it. Yes, it’s a small sample size. But, come on. Jokić is averaging 28.8 PPG on just 16.1 shots this season. Charles Barkley was the only player to ever hit these marks in history, and he did it in 1987-88. What’s the difference? Barkley averaged almost 12 free-throws per game in that same year. Jokic has taken fewer than six free throws so far this year. This league has never seen buckets like these. 

He’s also the league leader in rebounds (13.1) and assists (10.9) while the Nuggets outscore their opponents with an average of 15 points per game, which is also a league best mark. To say Jokić is the early season MVP favorite is an understatement (+200, per Caesars). This is not enough. Fact is, Jokić would have won the last five MVPs were it not for human voters and their time-honored need for new blood. Just as Michael Jordan should have more than five MVPs and LeBron should have more than four, Jokić should be going for number six this season. If this were true, it would make it easier to refer to him as the greatest player of all time, not just in the current era or during the present era. This is going to sound very dramatic to many people. But it isn’t. He may not get there in terms numbers or longevity, but he might. He’s still only 30. From a “that’s the best basketball player in the world” perspective, it’s getting harder to argue against him. This is beyond debate. The simple truth is there has never been a player who could not just beat you, but dominate you, in as many ways as Jokić can. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said it after Jokić’s 55-point outburst Wednesday night. “Our plan was to have him score, and then take away his ability to pass.” In general, the next game someone would try to reduce his scoring by sending double-teams at him. He will hit them for twenty assists. If you manage to keep his shooting down and control his passing, he will control the game. If you put a large player on him like the Clippers did to Ivica Zubac (an All-NBA defensive back), he will pop out for jumpers, and run off pin-down screen as a shooting guard. He’s the best player at post-ups in the world when a smaller player is on him. He faces up. He fades away. Cuts. Cuts. He’s an excellent passer. In transition, a point-center. A high-post pilot. In most sports, the best players are usually the best at just one or two things. A pitcher who has the best fastball shouldn’t also have the best slide, curveball and changeup. That’s Jokić. Shaq is down low. Magic running point. Kevin Durant is a great shooter. 

Since more than half a decade, he has been the best scorer in the world, as well as the best passer and rebounder. He’s somehow raising the bar this season with his ridiculous shooting statistics. 

2025-11-14 22:23:48