Nikola Jokic’s dominance in the NBA continues to leave analysts in disbelief. Despite being a three-time MVP, Jokic is having the best statistical season of his career. He’s on pace to capture yet another MVP award and solidify his place among the NBA’s greats. Therefore, NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry dismissed all the noise about the league losing its shine, claiming that Jokic is the best show that professional basketball has to offer.
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The veteran NBA writer made a guest appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast to talk about the trending topics in the game. During their conversation, the two began discussing the greatness of the six-time All-Star after Goldsberry brought him up.
The 48-year-old said that they should broadcast Nuggets’ games in a different way to allow him to just watch Jokic in action. He then went on to point some incredible stats of the Serbian that have left him amazed. He said,
“Here’s a stat, he is currently averaging more points per game than Shaq ever did in his career. More rebounds per game than Tim Duncan ever did in his entire career. He is averaging more assists per game than Chris Paul has ever done in his entire career. He’s making 49% of his threes, which is like Kyle Korver numbers. This is insanity. This is the best show in pro basketball.”
To put Jokic’s dominance into context, Goldsberry compared the Serbian star’s current season averages to the best of some of the greatest players ever in different categories. Jokic is currently averaging 30.7 points per game, which is more than Shaquille O’Neal’s career-high of 29.7 points per game.
Additionally, the Nuggets big man is tallying 13.0 rebounds per game, which tops Tim Duncan’s career-best of 12.9 rebounds per game. The most impressive stat of all is that Jokic is shooting 49.2% from three-point range, which is the best in the league.
Goldsberry and Bill Simmons discussed how the Joker is literally playing like a 2k character with all his attributes maxed out barring fitness and rim protection.
Despite not being the most athletic player on the court, he is making his presence felt in every aspect. Jokic is second in scoring and ranks third in rebounds and assists per game. He has almost single-handedly made Denver a playoff team in the West.
Jokic deserves his fourth MVP
Voter fatigue is certainly a real thing or else LeBron James would’ve won MVP for the majority of the 2010s. However, the advanced analytics all point in favor of Jokic earning his fourth MVP award in five years.
When on the court, Jokic makes an impact immediately. No player is impacting winning in the way the Nuggets star is. Jokic holds a point differential of +30.1, which is in the top 100th percentile of the entire league. When he is on the court, the Nuggets’ expected win total is +59, according to Cleaning The Glass.
Denver is one of, if not, the best teams in the NBA when Jokic is playing. Their points per possession increases by 29.4 points with him on the court. Unlike some players whose stats don’t translate to winning, everything the Nuggets star does impacts the team’s success for the better.
Thunder guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is in contention for the MVP award as well. But if the Nuggets continue to string together wins, Jokic may be approaching elite company with his fourth MVP.
