The narrative going around has been that Nikola Jokic has lost "it." In this case, "it" is the best basketball player in the world title. But he made it clear he's not ready to pass the torch that goes with that title to Victor Wembanyama in the Nuggets' thrilling 136-134 come-from-behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Joker had a classic game against Wemby, who, for someone who's so highly regarded defensively, seems to struggle with Jokic.
Jokic had his way with Wemby in the clutch and overtime, scoring 11 of his 40 over the final 10 minutes. And he even hit his classic "Sombor Shuffle" over the top of Wemby with one minute remaining in the frame, leaving Wemby shaking his head in disbelief.
To put a cherry on top of his performance against the possible defensive player of the year, Jokic did something no other player has done in the three-point era. Joker finished with 40 points, 13 assists, 3 blocks, and zero turnovers. Zero turnovers. The biggest issue the MVP voters have been having with Jokic. And he goes out and does that against Wembanyama. What a game.
Jokic has had Wembanyama's number head-to-head
There have now been seven career meetings between the two stars, and Jokic has made it clear over that time that Wembanyama has no answer for him. Wemby may have the rest of the league figured out, but not the Joker.
Jokic is averaging an absurd 37.3 points against Wemby head-to-head. And the Joker's averaging 10.9 rebounds and 9.1 assists, but the eye-popping number is the plus 51. He's just been dominant against Wemby, and the numbers back it up.
Jokic is even shooting 55% overall despite a lousy 29.4% from three-point range in the seven meetings. The Nuggets are 5-2 in those games. It only takes four to win a seven-game series.
The Nuggets are positioned well against the Spurs
The Nuggets found an answer to Wembanyama at the end of the game, and his name was Aaron Gordon. Gordon stopped Wemby in the clutch and overtime, holding him to just four points across the final 10 minutes of the game. Wemby had 30 in the 29 prior minutes.
It looks like the Nuggets have a solution for the problem Wembanyama presents, but the Spurs have no answer for Jokic. And that should give Nuggets fans a big boost of confidence today.
Nobody was writing off the Nuggets because they have Nikola Jokic, the best basketball player in the world. And because of him, they're showing everyone why they're the playoff team nobody wants to face.