Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has been working hard during the NBA’s play stoppage.
There are many endearing qualities of Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic, from his humility to his placid expressions. His doughy physique, although at times a concern, was another one of those qualities.
Nikola Jokic’s conditioning is no longer a concern
However, according to Nuggets president Tim Connelly, Jokic is now sporting a physique that would be unrecognizable. Connelly, who spoke on Altitude Sports Radio, would say that Jokic’s body is “beach ready”; he even has “abs.”
On @AltitudeSR, Tim Connelly said Nikola Jokic is “beach ready” and has “abs.”
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) June 4, 2020
Per Mike Singer of The Denver Post, Connelly says that “Nikola looks unbelievable… He’s in fantastic shape. Not just Nikola, a lot of our guys have taken this whole process very seriously. And I give them and our performance and strength-and-conditioning staff a ton of credit for keeping these guys locked in, but I’ve never seen him in better shape.”
It would seem that the NBA stoppage and the quarantine measures put in place as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic hasn’t deterred Jokic from working out regularly. In fact, Jokic seems to have went the way of Houston Rockets star James Harden, who appears to have slimmed down plenty due to a rigorous workout regimen he began when the NBA put the season on pause.
There are no recent pictures or videos of Jokic that can prove what Connelly is saying is true but it certainly can’t be assumed that it’s untrue. Jokic, who lost 20-25 pounds during the season in order to improve his play, weighed 284 pounds at the start of the 2019-20 season.
He could very well be in the 240-250 pound range now, which would mean he’s quite possibly quicker on his feet than he was before. That would be nothing less than practical for Jokic and the Nuggets, who may find themselves playing the center-less Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs and facing the highly athletic frontcourt of the Los Angeles Lakers in a potential Western Conference Finals matchup.
Not to say that those hypotheticals are the reason that Jokic has improved his physical conditioning but, at the very least, the playmaking big man has seemed to wisen up about taking care of his body.
Jokic is only 25-years-old but what he’s been doing this year could help him extend his career for a few years.