Nikola Jokic

[Obina]

After Porzingis, one more possible future NBA star from Europe. He come to Nuggets from Mega Leks. This boy looks like fatty kid, before he was called by agent Misko Raznatovic to sign with Mega. There is a short story about this:

Kako je Ražnatović otkrio Jokića:

“Nedelja je ujutro, oktobar, čitam Žurnal i rezultate juniorske lige. Prvo kolo. Vidim, Nikola Jokić iz Vojvodine imao indeks preko 50, 20 skokova. Ne znam ga, ali zaključujem da je centar. Sledeće nedelje priča se ponavlja. Odmah zovem Tadiju, i pitam ko je ovaj? Tadija, koji zna sve klince, kaže – nikad čuo. Kažem mu, proveri samo da li je centar, kako je fizički oformljen, da li je onako čvrst i nabijen, centar koji hvata na snagu, ili je bebast. Javi se Tadija za 15 minuta, kaže – bebast, bez ijednog mišića, čak ima i nešto sala, debeljuškast! Ja mu kažem – OK, sutra, tj. u ponedeljak, ideš u Novi Sad i ne vraćaj se bez Jokićevog potpisa o zastupanju. Nakon dva meseca ga je Vojvodina pustila, jer nije imao ugovor, i došao je kod nas u Megu. Mesec dana nije trenirao sa ekipom, nego se pripremao da može da trenira. Jedva je radio ženske sklekove. Onda je počeo, i Dejan Milojević je posle samo dva treninga rekao: Ovaj će za mesec dana da mi igra. Nisam verovao tada…''

Currently stats:
PTS: 9.6
REB: 5.9
AST: 1.9
PIE: 14.8


Tonight career high for him against Raptors, 27 pts + 14 reb + 4 ass.

[LDK]

He dominated against Valančiunas. Cant't wait to see another battle of them. Maybe in National teams?

[Serbian_Layup]

Kid has all the tools to be something very, very special...

[Modis]

He was a Round: 2 / Pick: 41st overall ??? Its ridiculous . He could be one of those new few rising European stars just like Porzingis. Saw the Nuggets vs Raptors and he dominated Valanciunas. So creative, passing, good view of the court, shooting threes .

[Serbian_Layup]

yeah, he was selected 41st overall in 2014. If he had been selected last year, I'm sure he would have been among top 10 picks. I guess the Nuggets have really good scouting team for european market. It's not by accident that they drafted Nurkić, Lauvergne and Jokić in a really short time.

[Srle]

His manager wanted for him to be drafted in the second round, at the last year draft he would have been a lottery pick easily.

[serbianhoops]

After Porzingis, one more possible future NBA star from Europe. He come to Nuggets from Mega Leks. This boy looks like fatty kid, before he was called by agent Misko Raznatovic to sign with Mega. There is a short story about this:

Kako je Ražnatović otkrio Jokića:

“Nedelja je ujutro, oktobar, čitam Žurnal i rezultate juniorske lige. Prvo kolo. Vidim, Nikola Jokić iz Vojvodine imao indeks preko 50, 20 skokova. Ne znam ga, ali zaključujem da je centar. Sledeće nedelje priča se ponavlja. Odmah zovem Tadiju, i pitam ko je ovaj? Tadija, koji zna sve klince, kaže – nikad čuo. Kažem mu, proveri samo da li je centar, kako je fizički oformljen, da li je onako čvrst i nabijen, centar koji hvata na snagu, ili je bebast. Javi se Tadija za 15 minuta, kaže – bebast, bez ijednog mišića, čak ima i nešto sala, debeljuškast! Ja mu kažem – OK, sutra, tj. u ponedeljak, ideš u Novi Sad i ne vraćaj se bez Jokićevog potpisa o zastupanju. Nakon dva meseca ga je Vojvodina pustila, jer nije imao ugovor, i došao je kod nas u Megu. Mesec dana nije trenirao sa ekipom, nego se pripremao da može da trenira. Jedva je radio ženske sklekove. Onda je počeo, i Dejan Milojević je posle samo dva treninga rekao: Ovaj će za mesec dana da mi igra. Nisam verovao tada…''

Ahahaha....FAIRY TALES FOR DUMMIES, just like the story of Nikola Jokić being a horse jockey driver before moving to Novi Sad to play for Vojvodina Srbijagas junior team.

I can hardly believe that Ražnatović, a man who pretends to watch 4 games a day, didn't watch Nikola Jokić's 34 points (on 14/20 2FG), 19 rebounds & 5 blocks game against Partizan, and his next week's 38 points (on 11/11 2FG) & 9 rebounds game against Vršac. Especially because these Junior League of Serbia's games were available on the Basketball Federation of Serbia website.

2012/13 Junior League of Serbia - Round 1 : Vojvodina Srbijagas - Partizan (75:80) - Nikola Jokić (#9 white jersey)

Moreover, I will be really disappointed if it appears to be true that Tadija never heard of Jokić before. Tadija, which is Branimir Tadić surname, is Ražnatović's man in the shadows, the one in charge of selecting Serbian prospects for the Beobasket agency. Some tends to forget that Jokić first appeared on scout's radar screen at the 2011 Maxima Zlatibor Basketball Camp organized by Miroslav Pecarski (Marko's father by the way). At the time, Pecarski Senior and Dusko Vujosević praised him. Nikola was a few inches shorter and a lot of pounds heavier, that's probably why he remained in the shade of other Serbian prospects of his generation and only hit the spotlight after a late growth spurt.

[Obina]

Good game for Joker against Porzingis, 20 + 9

[CoachZ]

Good game for Joker against Porzingis, 20 + 9

Yeah watched the game, played very well. Porzingis got into foul trouble. In general more rounded player than Porzingis.

[Serbian_Layup]

Jokić's rookie season stats: 10ppg, 7rpg, 2,4apg, 1st in 21,7 mpg. Last Serbian player to score in double figures in a rookie campaign was Nenad Krstić.
All Jokić has to do is work on his body and try to improve his foot speed. His skill set is already at an elite level.

[Serbian_Layup]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRR-n24tat0

Jokić season highlights

[Obina]

Joker is the 3rd rookie of the season.

4JFqJsH.jpg

[Serbian_Layup]

http://www.denverstiffs.com/2016/8/3...n-jusuf-nurkic

Very good read. After having watched many Jokić's games last season, I've come to conclusion that Jokić might become a pretty good defensive player. He'll never jump out of the building and he doesn't have to, because shot blocking ability is just a part of rim protection. His IQ, positioning in the paint, quick hands will allow him to always be at least a decent defender at NBA level. If he gets stronger or improve his quickness, he will be a sneaky good defender.

For example, Hassan Whiteside is regarded as a top rim protector, but if we pay a close attention, we'll see that he often gambles on defense by chasing crazy blocks away from the paint and risks dropoffs for easy layups or unchallenged offensive rebounds. Shot blocking ability doesn't equal rim protection, there are a lot more segments to consider if we're going to call someone a real rim protector. Sometimes, just contesting shots, getting good angles is much more efficient rim protection than chasing blocks at whatever cost.

[Serbian_Layup]

http://www.denverstiffs.com/2016/9/2...a-jokic-part-1

[Obina]

27 + 15 + 9 against Mavericks.

Last 10 games he is on ~ 17 ppg and 10 rpg, great form.