A long time ago in a country far away, a man asked another a wise man a question, to which the wise man responded with the following answer.
“Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God.”
In these latter days, a similar question is asked about NBA players. “Is LeBron good? Is Kyrie good? Is Kevin Durant good? Is Nikola Jokic good?”
Today, I’ll attempt to answer the question if Jokic is good with detailed analysis.
Is Jokic Good?
Yes.
Explain yourself
Nikola Jokic averaged, per game, in the 2016-17 season, 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and had an effective field goal percentage of 60.5. The other players to reach those numbers over the course of a season in the 3-point era are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley. Both of those players are in the NBA Hall of Fame, a good indicator of how good a player is.
Jokic makes his teammates better when he’s on the court. When he was on the court, the team averaged 1.19 points per possession, a 12 point improvement. They were better at offense and defensive rebounding, and their assist rate went up.
Jokic shot 51.9 percent on midrange shots. His passing vision, height, and footwork made him one of the most unguardable players on the elbow.
Jokic’s first sport was sitting down five feet behind the flanks of a horse in a cart. While other players were trying to beat their friends in Mario Kart Double Dash, Jokic was beating racers on an actual track.
Jokic reportedly drank 3 liters of Coca-Cola a day before beginning his NBA career. Assuming the sugar content of Coca-Cola is consistent internationally, Jokic drank 250 pounds of sugar each year. Jokic reportedly weighs 250 pounds, and yet, he’s able to clown elite athletes on a consistent basis.
Is Jokic bad?
They are some things that Jokic is, indeed bad at. Chief among those things is his sense of fashion. His idea of dressing up is slapping a blazer on over a t-shirt.
Jokic is nearly seven feet tall, and yet, is a terrible dunker. When the basketball gods were crafting him, he was accidentally delivered to our world before they added a vertical jump. He can dunk, it just looks bad.
Jokic has a sense of humor that is … unique. It takes some getting used to.
That’s about it, in terms of him being bad. There may be stats that show he’s not as skilled as other NBA players, however, this doesn’t determine whether or not he’s good or not.
Good, bad, one thing is absolute – Jokic is fun to watch play. If anything, we at Denver Stiffs suggest you take advantage of opportunities to watch him. It’s always a special occasion.
