Denver Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic and Dallas Mavericks legendary power forward Dirk Nowitzki are two of the more talented big men in the NBA that simply don’t dunk the ball as much as we would anticipate.
Both standing genuinely over 6-foot-11, Jokic and Nowitzki prefer to use their finesse around the basket instead of throwing it down and rocking the rim.
Interestingly pointed out by reddit user DioBrando101, Jokic and Nowitzki were well below the league average for Centers.
Random Fact: On average starting NBA centers made total of dunks 96.1 dunks this season. On the other hand Nikola Jokic and Dirk Nowitzki combine for 9 dunks this season.
There were a few outilers out there with AD, Capela and Deandre who all scored 200+ dunks somehow.
KAT and Bam pretty were the closest to dunking at a center average amount. (96 & 91)
Jokic made 8 dunks and Nowitzki made one.
In Nowitzki’s case it’s understandable, as the now 40-year-old may struggle to get any sort of lift nowadays, however in Jokic’s case, to dunk the ball only eight times in an entire season is bizarre. Jokic is young, tall and athletic enough to throw it down, but opts not to. To be fair to him, his game is more finesse than power, but eight times is still puzzling.
The pair of European born big men have two very different agendas for this upcoming campaign. Nowitzki is at the very twilight of his career and his objective for this upcoming season will be to help the young guys out as much as possible. With this season likely being his last, the 2011 NBA Finals MVP will undergo what promises to be somewhat of a farewell tour around the league.
As for Jokic, he will be the centrepiece of a young and hungry Nuggets squad who are looking to make their mark in the tough Western Conference. After missing out on the playoffs on the very last day of the regular season last campaign, the Nuggets will be looking to go one better and make the postseason this time around. They upgraded their roster with the additions of scoring point guard Isaiah Thomas, and newly acquired rookie Michael Porter Jr, who provide them with the tools to take that next step we are all anticipating.
Although they share many similarities, both Nowitzki and Jokic are currently at completely different stages of their respective careers. On a positive note, if this does happen to be Nowitzki’s last season, we still have capable and talented European big man to pass the torch on to.
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