Jokic rapidly climbed his way up Mike Malone’s rotation, taking over as the team’s starting center, and getting more confidence as the years went by. Now, he’s arguably the best player on the planet.

That’s why coach Malone took some time to pat himself on the back over the decision to build his entire roster and scheme over this unknown kid out of Serbia, who’s now an NBA champion.

Mike Malone Praises Himself For Building Around Nikola Jokic

“I’m talking to myself,” Malone said after the win. “This kid was All-Rookie as a center, and here I am bringing him off the bench and playing him as a 4 and a 5. And I said, ‘Screw everything.’ Nikola’s a center. He’s our center. And the next game, I started him at center. From that point in time, our offense, our team, our winning, everything just went straight up.”

“I made a decision that he would become the focal point of everything we do, every decision we make, every player we bring in has to be somebody that can play with and complement Nikola,” the coach continued.

“Now, knowing what this means,” Malone added. “It was just a really truly defining moment in this franchise’s history because I think everything at that point in time changed and changed for the better. It was the best decision I ever made.“

Not even Mike Malone ever thought that decision would lead to this, as Jokic has surpassed all projections and expectations, reminding us that some things simply cannot be measured.

The narrative after Game 1 was that Coach Darvin Ham had figured the Nuggets out because he put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic, and that the Lakers should feel confident despite the loss.

No one even talked about Nikola Jokic’s triple-double or how the Nuggets led by 18 points at halftime. That’s why Coach Mike Malone put the media on blast for the constant disrespect.

Mike Malone Puts NBA Media On Blast

“A lot of our guys and they may not admit this, you win Game 1 of the playoffs and all everyone talked about was the Lakers,“ Malone said in the aftermath of the win. “Let’s be honest, the national narrative was that the Lakers were fine.”

“No one talked about Nikola (Jokic) having a historic performance,” Malone continued. “He’s got 13 triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is incredible. The narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets, the narrative wasn’t about Nikola, it was about the Lakers and their adjustments. You put that in your pipe and smoke it and come back saying ‘We’re gonna go up 2-0’.”

Nikola Jokic Is Unbothered By The Lack Of Attention

Jokic, on the other hand, was completely unfazed by the lack of attention. He says it’s nothing new, and he and his teammates are more than used to being overlooked by the media:

“It’s nothing new for us. To be honest, I like it. We don’t care,” Jokic said. “Whatever. Even in the bubble when we beat Utah, it was they blew the lead. When we beat the Clippers, it was they blew the lead. Nobody talked about how we won those games. It’s normal for us. I don’t pay attention [to all of that].”

The Nuggets have most definitely made a statement now. If people were sleeping on them, you better believe they’ve got everybody’s attention after these two huge wins.