Jokic credits Serbian summer with improving his accuracy
In an old-school gym in Sombor, Serbia, Nikola Jokic had a basketball in his hands and his godfather in his ear.
Whenever Jokic neared his goal of sinking 10 shots in a row from a particular spot, the commands would grow louder: “Make it! Make it! Make it!”
“Shoot, I’ve got to make it,” Jokic would tell himself.
Jokic’s multidimensional skill set makes him one of the NBA’s top young big men. But the third-year Nuggets center’s latest magnificent performance — dropping a career-high 41 points in Denver’s 112-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night — was anchored by wildly efficient shooting that he refined in his European hometown over the summer.
“He’s got a great rhythm right now,” said coach Michael Malone, who spent a week with Jokic in Serbia. “Most important, he’s got great confidence, and I think you get that confidence by putting countless hours in the gym. …
“Watching him work on his game, I’m not surprised by the success that he’s having.”
Jokic reached that gaudy point total by going 16-of-25 from the field, 4-of-9 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. He’s shooting 53.5 percent overall and 43.9 percent from behind the arc, helping him rank seventh in the NBA in efficiency (27.5). His 3-point mark through 11 games is a significant uptick from
his career 34.5 percentage.
Jokic let the ball fly from all over the floor during those sessions in Serbia, working heavily on spot shooting, “pick-and-pop” attempts and shots off one or two dribbles. He refined his stance and started releasing the ball a bit higher in hopes of preventing short shots that grazed off the front of the rim. He also tried to simulate game tempo.
“Your legs are tired, your body is tired,” Jokic said, adding, “I (saw) myself getting better.”
Yet Malone notices Jokic’s current mind-set more than tweaked mechanics. Jokic’s shot selection has been strong throughout the season, the coach said, and he does not get discouraged when he misses a couple of attempts in a row.
“(Some players) don’t have the mental toughness to say, ‘OK, I’ll make my next one,’ ” Malone said. “(Jokic) can miss, and he’s gonna keep shooting.”
Jokic’s newfound long-distance accuracy adds another weapon to his game and to the Nuggets’ potent offense. He’s punishing opponents who give him space to launch those shots. But if opponents start playing up, Jokic can unleash his elite ability to distribute to teammates.
“That’s what we need from ‘Joker’ — just for him to be aggressive,” Nuggets forward Paul Millsap said. “I think it takes a lot of pressure off a lot of us.”
Some of the shots Jokic worked on in Serbia — like the transition pull-up 3 — are ones he would never dare to try in an NBA game. But he continues to talk daily with his godfather, a relationship Jokic describes as a friendship first and coach/player second.
Jokic has also gotten a recent taste of home, as his parents are in Denver for a three-week visit. They joined his brothers, Nemanja and Strahinja, in the stands for Jokic’s career outing. Hours after the game, they all kept pulling up high- lights on their cellphones.
Jokic, the understated budding star, was thoroughly embarrassed by his family’s reaction. But he can thank the countless hours spent in Serbia for making him a more efficient shooter, which led to his latest magnificent performance.