Nikola Jokic: The Work Ethic Behind a Generational Talent
SAN DIEGO — In his personal life, Nikola Jokic is intensely private and, to hear him tell it, boring. Forget the images you saw this summer of him dancing in Serbia. His offseason life revolves around his family, his horses, and the workout routine he adopted five years ago that’s taken him from a great player to a generational talent.
He’s not one to divulge the specifics of what caused his game to jump a few notches and what caused him to go from an All-Star to MVP. But we can all see the obvious. One day, he suddenly came back in better shape, much better shape, and performed better on both ends of the floor. The scoring acumen saw an uptick. He stopped struggling with long and athletic defenders, such as Rudy Gobert. He went from being difficult to guard to impossible to guard.
Of course, the Denver Nuggets front office built an almost perfect roster around his talents and rode his brilliance to an NBA championship. And on ring night, the Nuggets get to hang a banner because of that.
But, when pressed about specifics, Jokic did give a small look into what drives him and what drives his workouts. It’s a three-part edict that propelled him through difficult spots and allowed him to push himself to places physically and mentally that we may not have thought possible earlier in what is shaping up to be an all-time great basketball career.
Dedication. No shortcuts. No excuses.
“I’ve been doing this routine for the last five years,” Jokić said on Friday from Denver’s training camp. “It’s working, so I’m not going to change anything as long as it’s working. I’m just doing what I’m doing.”
As Denver gears up to defend its title, Jokić may have as big a challenge on his hands as he has had in his career. Of course, and this is probably to his credit, he will never see it this way. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone won’t see it this way either.
But, how does one improve on … near perfection? He’s a two-time MVP and probably should be going for a fourth consecutive award. He just made the postseason look like child’s play in what was a historic individual run. He obliterated every single playoff matchup on his way to a no-doubt Finals MVP. He enters this season as the guy everyone is chasing for the title of best player in the world.
How does one level up from there?
Part of Malone’s beauty is that he’s so intense and coaches with such a chip on his shoulder that he will never allow himself or a roster that he’s coaching to rest on past accomplishments. In some NBA corners, such an approach has frayed nerves. In Denver, it’s a passion that’s been welcomed and embraced, and it’s become a part of the fabric of who the Nuggets are. Even if Jokić stays at the same level on the floor, Malone would like to see him become more of a vocal leader in the locker room.
And it’s possible to have both. One of Jokić’s best traits is that he never forces himself on a basketball game. That allows Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. to do their thing within the flow of the action. But there are times when Jokić needs to be more assertive offensively, which is balance he figured out in the postseason. Malone would like to see that carried over to the regular season.
Jokić’s mood this week in San Diego has been jovial. He’s been at ease with being back in the United States and with his teammates. It’s created a really good camp for the Nuggets, who feel like they got a lot done this week on the floor and among themselves rekindling camaraderie.
“I think our biggest concern with Nikola was just him being homesick,” Malone said. “We all like to be home with our friends and our family, and for him, his horses. Since he’s been back, we haven’t seen any signs of him being down in the dumps. He’s becoming an even better leader, not always just vocal, but with body language.
“He’s in a good place, and because of that, the team is in a good place. And it’s hard not to be. We’ve had a great run. We won a championship. And we’ve worked hard this week.”
It’s not hard to imagine what could be in front of Jokić on this trajectory. After all, he’s only 28. He’s in the prime of his career. He’s accomplished as much at his age as many of the best centers in NBA history. And he has a team that’s good enough, deep enough, and talented enough to accomplish more at the highest level.
If you ask, he’ll tell you he’s not thinking about himself in a historic perspective. And that’s probably where he and his horses are similar. He’s running his NBA race, and doing so with blinders on.
“You can’t think about that,” Jokić said Friday. “You just have to worry about the things that are happening around you. So it’s something that I just try not to think about. I’m just trying to play the game the right way. That’s just what I’m trying to do every day.”
Jokić can end up as one of the best players to ever lace ’em up. He can end up as one of the best individual passers the game has ever seen and one of the best centers ever. This week, he and the starters continued where they left off. In a team scrimmage on Friday, he was his typical self, finding cutters for easy baskets and shooters for open looks at the basket.
“He had like nine assists in the first quarter,” forward Christian Braun said. “He made us look really good.”
The rest of the league should wonder, what if Jokić is better? What if he’s a touch more efficient? Or a little more aggressive offensively from a scoring perspective? It’s an interesting thought. But it’s also one path for the Denver Nuggets to put themselves in contention for another championship.
(Photo of Nikola Jokic: Isaiah J. Downing / USA Today)