It didn't take long before Nikola Jokic proved that he was a special kind of talent. The Denver Nuggetstook him late in the second round of the NBA Draft and he quickly earned every single one of his minutes.
Now, however, The Joker has taken his game to a whole new level. He entered this season in the best physical shape of his career and with a more aggressive mindset, and it's clearly paying off every night out there.
Last night, he completely owned former Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert with a 47-point performance, tying his career-high to lead the Nuggets to an impressive 128-117 win over the Utah Jazz.
Nikola Jokic Is The Second Player To Open A Season With 20 Consecutive Double-Doubles
Jokic finished the game with 47 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 4 three-pointers. With that line, he logged his 20th consecutive double-double, tying Bill Walton (1976-77) as the only players to ever start a season with 20 straight double-doubles since the NBA/ABA merger.
It was pretty clear that Jokic was a bit of a swiss knife. He can run the offense as efficiently as some of the best point guards ever, he's got a smooth jump shot, some range, and his size allows him to dominate both ends of the glass.
Now, his aggressiveness as a scorer has led the Nuggets through a difficult start of the season with Jamal Murray struggling with his shot and Michael Porter Jr missing most of the campaign due to Covid-19.
The Nuggets currently sit at the 4th spot in the Western Conference with a 12-8 record, while Jokic is one of the leading candidates to win the MVP award with averages of 26.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
