When Nikola Jokic was named the NBA's number one player in ESPN's Top-100 rankings, it came as little surprise to Denver Nuggets fans. The three-time MVP has been voted number one for three consecutive seasons now by the writers at ESPN. But what one unnamed general manager had to say about why he thought Jokic was correctly placed in the top spot speaks volumes about what makes Jokic so special.
One of the writers who voted on the topic, Ben Golliver, put out a follow-up report to the rankings that had quiet the quote from the unnamed general manager regarding why Jokic should be ranked ahead of Victor Wembanyama, who finished in the second spot.
"Jokic makes his whole team better than anyone else. If you gave him and Wemby the same teammates, Denver would be better," the general manager said.
I would have to agree with that statement through and through. If the Nuggets had Wemby, they might not be the contender that they are with Jokic.
Jokic's basketball IQ and passing set him apart from everyone
That part about making everyone better rings true so much. Just look at Tim Hardaway Jr. last year. He came to Denver on a minimum contract after a regressive year and had the best three-point shooting year of his career. And you can be sure that getting plenty of open looks from three and Jokic finding him wide open with accurate passes was one of the major reasons why. And it led to Hardaway receiving a nice raise in free agency with the Miami Heat.
Jokic knows where his teammates should be, and he'll find the open player, even if he has to sling the ball across the court to do it. Jokic just became the first center in basketball history to lead the league in assists and average a triple-double for the second consecutive season.
Is Jokic prone to mistakes as well? Absolutely. But he'll figure out how to correct the issue. His basketball IQ is off the charts, and that's one of the reasons he's so good at reading the court and finding the right pass to make.
That quote from the general manager needs to inspire Nuggets fans to have hope this season. The team may not have had the best offseason, but they made some moves that are more underrated than they're being given credit for, like signing the EuroLeague's Best Defender, Alpha Diallo, and bringing DeMar DeRozan in for offense off the bench. Jokic will make it all fit together in the end. Because that's what separates him from Wemby.
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