Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was not a household name a couple of years ago, but he is now widely considered as one of the best big men — and best players — in basketball.
That being said, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich does not like it when the term “revolutionary” is thrown around when discussing Nikola Jokic…or basketball players, period.
Pop on whether Nikola Jokic has revolutionized C position: "When I think of revolutions, I think of people like Che Guevara, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. I don’t really think of Jokic as far as revolutionary, so I think you’re a bit hyperbolic there. But he is one heck of a player."
— Mike Singer (@msinger) December 27, 2018
Now, without video of Gregg Popovich's response, it's hard to tell if he was being tongue-in-cheek with this remark, as the wily Spurs coach has been known to do.
However, is he actually being serious? Come on, Pop. It's not that serious! We are talking about Jokic's impact on the game of basketball — not his impact on world affairs.
This season, Jokic is averaging 18.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.5 steals over 30.6 minutes per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor, 31.1 percent from 3-point range and 84.7 percent from the free-throw line.
And no, that assist stat is not a typo. A 7-footer is really averaging over seven dimes a night, which is just incredible.
The 23-year-old, who came over from Serbia, was originally selected by the Nuggets in the second round (41st pick overall) of the 2014 NBA Draft. He arrived in the NBA for the 2015-16 campaign, registering 10 points, seven boards, 2.4 assists and one steal across 21.7 minutes per game.
Denver currently holds the No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference with a record of 21-10, making the Nuggets one of the most pleasant surprises in the league this season.
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