How Nikola Jokić channeled Larry Bird to develop into much more dominant

Nikola Jokić's dramatic jump as a shooting guard this season just isn’t directly related to the Denver Nuggets' playoff semifinal loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last spring. But if you go 2-for-14 from 3-point range like Jokić did in Games 6 and seven, that may actually be seen as a turning point.

Jokić didn't shoot the ball well enough. He knew it, and secretly it was eating him up.

One day within the offseason, Jokić went to his player development coach, Nuggets assistant Ogi Stojaković, and said that just about every shot felt different to him. Did that result in Jokić shooting 23 percent from 3-point range on this playoff series against Minnesota? Maybe, perhaps not.

But Jokić is a perfectionist, a creature of routine. He felt like there was obviously something fallacious together with his shooting mechanics. And he desired to fix it.

“I think it helps you a lot if you can shoot the ball at a high level,” said Jokić. “It helps with construction. It gives you one more thing that the defense has to respect in your game. When you can shoot the ball, teams have to guard you differently, and that helps. It helps you and it helps the team.”

Ultimately, Jokić desired to develop into harder to protect so as to further improve his game, like all greats in NBA history have done. With Jokić now lower than two months away from his thirtieth birthday, longevity has develop into a key concern for him and people near him.

“When he came to me before the season, we talked about his shot and what we could do with it,” Stojaković said. “We decided to bring the ball closer to his body and eliminate negative movement. He tried it and was happy with it, and that helped a lot. From then on it was about general representatives. We want him to be fresher for the playoffs and our goal is longevity.”

Jokić has won three league MVP awards, led an NBA title run and established himself as the very best passing center in history. But someway, this season was arguably the very best version of Jokić we've ever seen. He averages 30.7 points, 13 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game. And even with those numbers, the shooting numbers have metaphorically left the earth.

Jokić is shooting 49.2 percent from 3-point range this season. That can be a skyrocketing profession high – his previous high was 39.6 percent in 2017-18 and he shot just 36 percent from 3-point range last 12 months.

He's all the time been a great long-range shooter, especially for an enormous man. But this season, based on volume, he's arguably the very best shooter within the league. He and Stojaković did this with reps within the preseason. Instead of using the time between the Olympics and the season to rest, Jokić arrived in Denver a couple of month sooner than he normally would. And then the 2 of them went to the gym each day and worked out.

Jokić's shot used to begin lower, which meant he needed to put his legs more into the shot. The problem is that Jokić has a lot contact with opponents within the paint during a matchup that his legs can fail over the course of a game. At the top of an evening, a lot of those 3-point attempts fail and bounce off the front of the rim.

Jokić now starts his shooting motion higher, meaning he needs fewer legs and more arm to fireside the shot. The catch that was there before is now gone. It looks slightly like what all-time great Larry Bird shot.

It worked. Jokić has been a more willing 3-point shooter this season. His volume – 4.6 attempts per game – is definitely the best of his profession. If the numbers stay anywhere near what they currently are, this might represent certainly one of the best achievements of his profession.

“What we like is that he needs less energy to shoot the ball,” Stojaković said. “He shoots the ball closer to his body. After the Olympics we realized we needed to clean up his mechanics. He shoots better now. It’s a cleaner shot and more confidence.”

Jokić's shot has develop into a bridge to what he has done all season. Although he was a great shooter in recent seasons, opponents could at the very least hope that he didn't must guard your complete three levels of the court. And ultimately, going back to the Minnesota series, that's certainly one of the things that allowed the Timberwolves to be somewhat successful in containing him.

But this season there was no recourse against the opponents. He was as nearly unguarded as any player in NBA history, and since of that, the Nuggets were among the finest teams within the league offensively (fourth in offensive rating, 117.4).

“I think his performance this season depends on many factors,” said Stojaković. “He played for the national team and for him it was almost like playing an extra playoff series. Every possession and every game counted, so there was a good transfer for him. He started the season in great shape and has continued to do so.

“But we were constantly trying to keep adding things to his game. I think he's been the best player in the world for the last five to seven years. We want him to stay happy and healthy. At each stage of his career there were certain challenges. He is a better tactical player than ever before and now we want to extend his longevity.”

The negative is that the Nuggets rely an excessive amount of on Jokić. He's playing 36.9 minutes per game, which can be by far a profession high (he's logged 34.6 minutes per game in a season twice, including last 12 months). This could also mean that his defensive performance wasn't that good.

But one reason the Nuggets have expressed strong interest within the trade market is because they need to seek out someone to assist relieve Jokić's offensive pressure. Denver's goal is to be the last team standing, and that may all the time be the Nuggets' goal so long as Jokić is playing at this level.

He's perhaps playing at his highest level ever at once, and it's as much as Denver as a corporation to maximise his ability as a player. As for Jokić, he’ll proceed to fine-tune to enhance his level.

“His work ethic is through the roof,” Stojaković said. “That’s why he is who he is.”