Does Nikola Jokic already have a HOF-esque career?

As of now, Nikola Jokić has already cemented himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history for the Denver Nuggets. He’s a two-time MVP, Finals MVP, multiple-time All-Star, and the greatest passing big man of all time.

Even though he is only 28 years old, he has still had a resume better than a lot of players. He’s still got many more seasons to go until he calls it a career, barring anything crazy happening. With the way his career is going, there’s no reason he cannot accumulate more NBA championships, MVPs, and other awards.

There have only been 12 players in NBA history to have won back-to-back MVP awards, and Jokić was the most recent. He could have won his third MVP award, but a bit of voter fatigue and a few other outside factors were enough to give Joel Embiid the MVP last season.

Giving the Denver Nuggets the only championship in their team’s history is really incredible, and Jokić can say that he was the best player on the first championship team in Denver. That’s not something that can be stated every day.

No matter how his career ends, Jokić will almost certainly have his jersey in the rafters of Ball Arena. It will be interesting to see if both Carmelo Anthony and Jokić get their jersey retired, as both players wore #15 for the Nuggets. Jokić definitely had the better career in Denver, but that doesn’t mean Anthony was a bad player, but that’s beside the point.

Jokić was ranked as the best player in the league according to Bleacher Report, and it is great to see that he is finally getting his recognition after his NBA title. As for the rest of the team, there were three other players on the top 100 list.

Anyway, looking at Jokić’s accolades, the list goes on and on. His Player Efficiency Rating, or PER, was the highest PER of all time in the 2021-22 season. He also had the 11th-best and 14th-best PER last season and during the 2020-21 season, respectively.

Every player in the NBA who has won an MVP award has made the Hall of Fame or will eventually make it once they retire(outside of Derrick Rose), and Jokić will be no exception. When he retires years in the future, how high among the greatest centers of all time ranking will he be?

For the sake of this article, let’s assume Jokić retired today. For some reason, the second-largest contract in NBA history didn’t really appeal to him, so he left the NBA. Would his career accolades up to this point be enough for him to make the Hall of Fame?

Being a member of the All-NBA 1st Team three times and the All-NBA 2nd Team twice is impressive. He also is a 5x All-Star, a Finals MVP, and a Western Conference Finals MVP.

Jokić’s advanced analytics look amazing. His Box Plus/Minus ranks 1st in NBA history, ahead of players like Michael Jordan and LeBron James. He has the 3rd best offensive rating in NBA history, has the highest win shares Per 48 minutes in the NBA, and the list goes on and on.

With all of that being said, Jokić would probably still be inducted into the Hall of Fame, even if he did retire today. His accolades and resume are super impressive, and his career is not even over yet. His probability to make the Hall of Fame right now is at 86.4% according to Basketball Reference, and that is only considering his career accolades up to this point.

Nikola Jokić does have a long career still ahead of him, and will still be on the Denver Nuggets for a long time until his contract expires.