Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic will not participate in international play this summer, according to a report from T.J. McBride of milehighsports.com. Instead, the Serbian-born 23-year-old will focus on improving his game and body in the U.S.
Jokic made 75 appearances with the Nuggets in the 2017-18 regular season (73 starts), averaging 18.5 points on 49.9 percent shooting from the field (39.6 percent from beyond the arc), 10.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.2 steals and just under one block (0.8) in 32.6 minutes per.
McBride notes that Jokic seems to have lost a bit of weight. One reason for this could be the fact that he has not started his offseason workout routine yet.
It also appears as if Nikola Jokic has lost some weight so far throughout this early portion of the offseason. pic.twitter.com/jQKI7w2yWx
— T.J. McBride (@TJMcBrideNBA) May 24, 2018
Needless to say, Jokic is an extremely important piece of Denver's metaphorical puzzle. He seems poised to take his game to the next level, and the league is taking notice. The Nuggets will be faced with a decision in the future.
“A potential restricted free agent, Jokic is in line for a massive contract extension this summer,” McBride writes in his recent article.
After finishing ninth in the Western Conference in 2016-17, the Nuggets were hoping to be a playoff team this season. Though they improved their overall record by six games, Denver finished in the Draft Lottery for a fifth consecutive year (46-36 overall and 5th in the Northwest Division).
The Nuggets will be looking to secure a playoff seed next season, to be sure. There's no doubt they'll need Jokic in top shape if that goal is to be reached.
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