Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic can’t be bothered by career-highs, and he certainly doesn’t have time to weigh in on his latest statistical feat.
“Not anymore,” Jokic told The Denver Post before a recent home game.
Well, OK, but did his selfless game ever have a selfish component?
“Yeah, of course, when you came here, it’s in the back of your mind,” said Jokic, whose circuitous basketball journey took him from the Adriatic League to the NBA beginning in 2015. “I want to stay here. This is the league of the stats, the numbers. It’s in the back of your head, but for me, not anymore.”
Before he became a fixture in the debate regarding who is the NBA’s best center, Jokic was just trying to stay in the league. One $147-million max contract later and Jokic has no concerns over his individual stats, or whatever record he just broke. That could be the reason why he’s so nonchalant anytime the letters “M-V-P” get lumped into a question.
“Yeah, not anymore,” Jokic said. “It’s over. I think the coach, the owner, the GM, the players want to win the game. That’s the bottom line.”
Minutes after the Nuggets (13-3) secured one of their best victories of the season — a convincing 105-95 win over Houston — Jokic turned into his goofy, irreverent self. He deftly handled the standard inquiries — “How did you hold MVP candidate James Harden to 27 points?” — before assuming his more natural state.
When asked to compare his season-high 27 points to Harden’s “off” night 27, Jokic’s typical tongue-in-cheek, low maintenance persona came out.
“Yeah, thank you guys,” he said. “See, that’s really nice of you.
“It was really quiet, that’s why I don’t remember. I know I scored two threes, I scored an and-1 in the end. I got actually a couple offensive rebounds. So, not too bad. …”
After a relatively slow start to the season, Jokic has authored consecutive game-winning shots, an 18-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double and a 20-rebound effort in Tuesday’s win over Washington. With 31 career triple-doubles, he’s just two signature nights away from cracking the top-10 all-time in NBA history.
“I’m just trying to win the games,” he said. “Even when I score against Houston, I didn’t even know. It was like, what? I didn’t even pay attention that I scored that much.”
Know what else Joker doesn’t pay attention to? His critics. When he was roundly criticized earlier this season for not being as engaged on the court as he’s been in the past, and soon after, his weight, Jokic rolled his eyes.
“I don’t read anything anymore,” Jokic said. “I stopped.”
Between the potshots regarding his physique and the pundits claiming he was out of shape, Jokic said that never entered his mind.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Jokic said. “People are … they assume things, and they cannot be right or wrong. They’re just saying, if it’s wrong (shrug). If it’s good, if they are right, it’s a good thing.”
Jokic typically concludes his media sessions with a sarcastic “Always a pleasure!” but occasionally he’ll drop a few revealing anecdotes. His concern for team over self, and his indifference to the noise surrounding him, may be the most genuine of them all.
shanmustafa on November 29th, 2019 at 14:12 UTC »
my only thing with jokic was that he’s such an offensively skilled scorer but i was afraid he might have that steve nash to his game where he just doesn’t shoot enough, luckily the playoffs last year showed me if he’s gotta take 20-30 shots he’s got no problem doing that.
yesterdays_newguy on November 29th, 2019 at 13:42 UTC »
First I was like "huh?" And then I was all like "what?"
TheKnicksHateMe on November 29th, 2019 at 13:29 UTC »
jokic is one of the few guys that i actually believe doesn’t know how much he scored.