All last season, the vast majority of basketball fans had Kristaps Porzingis head and shoulders above Nikola Jokic in their rookie of the year rankings. Jokic was often left out of the conversation when talking about the best young bigs in the NBA. Some of this had to do with Zinger’s hot start in November his rookie season. Some of it had to do with the fact the Porzingis plays in New York, where everything gets hyped, and Joker plays in Denver, where no one ever pays attention (including the local casual sports fans).
The last two month (TWO MONTHS!!!) have been Jokic’s breakout party. Slowly the tide turned and the casual NBA fans started to recognize that Jokic wasn’t some side show or some fluke player that was being overhyped. Slowly more and more people saw that Jokic was the real deal.
Tonight, I sincerely hope that the Jokic-Porzingis conversation is over. At least for now. Jokic is miles ahead of the 7-3 Latvian at this point and is every bit as much of a unique unicorn that Porzingis is, and honestly, much more exciting to watch. Jokic dropped 40, many of which came right in Zinger’s face. He had threes, post ups, drives, and some silky soft finishes. He also had about a dozen filthy passes that should’ve been assists but guys blew the scoring opportunity.
Check out the highlights, Nuggets fans. And rejoice. This guy is on our team and will be here for a long time. And yes, it’s still too early to declare what he is, but he has a chance to become the best player in Nuggets history.
Lastly, if you haven’t already, you need to buy this new “Magic Jokic” shirt. It’s the first of it’s kind and sold right here on Denver Stiffs. It’s just $24 and is a must-have for any Nuggets and/or Jokic fan. Can be shipped all over the globe so fans from Australia, Serbia, Asia, or anywhere in the U.S. can grab one of these.
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