Denver Nuggets: Where does Nikola Jokic rank in the NBA?

Denver Nuggets big man, Nikola Jokic won the 2020-21 NBA Most Valuable Player award, beating out competitors like Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He finished the season averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists (all career highs) while playing in each and every single game. He reached those numbers while shooting 57 percent from the floor, 39 percent from behind the arc, and 87 percent from the free throw line.

While Embiid was making a late push for the award, Jokic solidified his spot as the league’s best player after Jamal Murray went down with a torn ACL. Nikola elevated his game, making up for the absence and carried the Denver Nuggets to a top-three seed, a position many predicted the team to fall out of with the injury.

Jokic carried the strong regular season into the playoffs, absolutely torching the Portland Trail Blazers’ porous defense, and putting up solid numbers against the Phoenix Suns.

His stellar play this past season also saw the Big Honey leap into the top tier of NBA players according to Seth Partnow, The Athletic’s player tier list. The list ranks Jokic as the sixth-best player in the NBA, trailing only Giannis, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard.

The ranking puts Jokic in Tier 1B, the second half of the top tier. Only Giannis, LeBron, and KD sit in 1A of the list.

Partnow says that he was skeptical when ranking Jokic in 2A this time last season. He was worried about how his poor defense will hold up against the best of the best:

"“I think my concerns about Jokic’s defensive versatility remain well-founded, but with somewhat improved conditioning and much more consistent night-to-night aggression looking for his own offense, Jokic produced one of the great offensive seasons from a center in the modern (post-2004 or so) era. He was an extremely worthy MVP, and for the third straight season, carried his excellence into the postseason.”"

If people weren’t sure about Jokic’s excellence entering the playoffs, the fact that he put away a full-strength Damian Lillard-led Portland team should talk about how good he is. Lillard averaged 34.3 points in that series and even a 50-point outing wasn’t enough to push his team over the line.

When Henry Abbot, TrueHoop reported that Lillard will request a trade this offseason (a report that was denied by Lillard), he pointed to the fact that the Blazers couldn’t get over an injured Denver Nuggets side. Congratulations to Jokic for playing so well he might’ve made Dame lose faith in his team.

What does Nikola Jokic’s ranking mean for the Denver Nuggets?

Everyone knows how important superstars are in today’s NBA. Thankfully, Partnow’s rankings give us a way to quantify the league’s need for superstars:

"“Tier 1. The cream of the crop. While having a player of this stature isn’t an absolute necessity in the quest for an NBA title, history suggests it is pretty damn important.“Of the last 10 NBA champions, only the 2014 Spurs didn’t have a Tier 1 player at the time, and several (the 2012 and 2013 Heat and 2017 and 2018 Warriors, in my opinion) had two. The degree of difficulty for teams that don’t have a Tier 1 guy is just much higher.”"

With Nikola Jokic on the roster, the Denver Nuggets are a lock for the playoffs for the rest of his prime. The conversation now shifts to ‘how can we win a title?’

The Jamal Murray injury really hurts Denver’s championship aspirations. Regardless of how solid Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland looks in Summer League, this team needs a fully healthy Jamal next to Jokic.

Next offseason will be a very important one for the Denver Nuggets. Tim Connelly will essentially have a season off this year, the following offseason is the one where he needs to lock down a championship-level roster and make a push for Denver’s first-ever championship. With one of only seven top-tier players, the hard work is done.

Denver Nuggets: Where will Nikola Jokic finish next season?

Nikola Jokic is currently sixth but Kawhi Leonard is one position above him. As Partnow says, he docks players for missing time due to an injury, it might be a bit harsh but it’s understandable.

Because of this, we’ll likely see Jokic jump at least one level simply for Kawhi not making the list next year. The next player above him is James Harden.

Speaking on very simple terms, Harden will be sharing the court with KD and Kyrie Irving, Jokic will be without his second-best player, is there an argument there for Jokic’s production increasing and Harden’s dropping?

It’s possible, but Harden still averaged 24.6 points in a Brooklyn jersey and took 16.6 shots a night. Harden’s also a regular season darling, if KD and Kyrie miss time (which they usually do), we’ll be watching The Beard play with strictly role players around him.

Outside of Jokic climbing, he might even have to watch his heels. Behind him is Steph Curry who will be entering next season with a healthy Klay Thompson, an ensemble of role players, and three exciting young players in James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody.

At the top of Tier 2 is Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, and Luka Doncic. There’s a world in which each of those players leap into the top tier of the NBA. In my opinion, Jokic should hold them off handily, he’s simply that great, but what a state the league is in that the top of the second tier is so elite.

Overall, these rankings from The Athletic are pretty spot on. While Jokic did win the MVP award, his position is pretty safe behind the trio of Giannis, KD, and LeBron. Regardless of where he is, he’s in Tier 1 and those players are extremely hard to find.

Another exercise Partnow does is collate player’s rosters based on their “star power”, where they rank in the tier list, awarding points for having a player in each tier. Using this, the Denver Nuggets have the fifth-highest “star power”.

It’s helped along by Jokic’s Tier 1B ranking, Jamal’s Tier 3B, and Michael Porter Jr.’s Tier 4B placement. But what it means is that Denver’s ready for another accolade, one like the Larry O’Brien Trophy.