Why Nikola Jokic Is the Single Best NBA Player Ever
By a lot! (And backed by proof)
I am a 90s kid.
When I think about the greatest basketball peaks ever, my mind immediately jumps to Michael Jordan in the late 80s and early 90s.
Most probably agree with this. And it's not wrong. MJ is the GOAT in so many ways.
You might also think of Shaq in 2000 as the single most dominant player ever, maybe only rivaled by Chamberlain decades earlier. Names like Kobe or Steph Curry may also come to mind.
But that's all nothing compared to present-day Nikola Jokic. Here's why!
Un-FREAKING-believable
Something ridiculous is happening in Denver right now, and I'm not sure people are really grasping how insane it is.
Nikola Jokic isn't just playing great basketball – he's doing things that are making stat nerds question their spreadsheets.
When he's on the court, the Nuggets look like the greatest offense ever assembled. No joke! Their numbers are among the best ever 127.3 points per 100 possessions.
When he sits?
They look like they forgot how to play basketball. I'm not even exaggerating: they score 31 more points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the floor this season.
That's nuts.
Some perspective
To put that in context, even peak Steph Curry – you know, the guy who revolutionized shooting – "only" lifted the Warriors by 15 points per 100 possessions.
15 points compared to 31!
You don't even need the numbers though.
Just watch Nikola Jokic play for five minutes. This dude is out there playing a completely different sport than everyone else.
He catches the ball at the top of the key, and it's like watching a chess grandmaster toy with casual players. He sees everything before it happens.
Near the rim? Forget about it.
He's got footwork that would make Hakeem proud and touch that shouldn't be possible for someone his size. And the passing abilities of the best there ever were.
Unstoppable
Here's the thing that really gets me: Teams have tried everything to stop him, and nothing works.
Try to force him away from the rim?
Cool, he's now hitting threes at a 50% clip on over four attempts per game. That's better than most guards.
Send help defense?
He's probably the best passing big man ever – maybe the best passer period – and he'll dice your defense up.
Try to get physical?
He'll just put the ball on the floor and somehow lumber-dance his way to the rim. It's not pretty... or athletic. But it surely works.
Stats you can't even make up in NBA 2K
Want a stat that'll melt your brain?
Jokic touches the ball 113 times per game.
The Nuggets only have about 100 possessions per game. That means he's not just involved in every possession – he's often the guy making multiple things happen in the same possession.
Nobody's done anything close to this since they started tracking these numbers.
Even guys like Harden, Luka, and LeBron – dudes famous for having the ball all the time – topped out at like 60-80 touches per 100 team possessions during their best years.
Jokic isn't just the Nuggets' best player – he IS their offense.
Plus Minus
Let's get nerdy for a second.
Basketball reference says a Box Plus/Minus of 10 or higher is basically basketball nirvana – think Jordan or LeBron at their absolute best.
Only 16 players have ever hit that mark for even one season. Four guys have done it multiple times.
Jokic?
He's averaging above 10 for his entire career.
That's the highest ever. Period.
Even crazier? Only eight times has anyone posted a BPM of 12 or higher. LeBron did it once in 2009, when he was basically a basketball god.
Jordan did it twice, in '88 and '91, probably the two greatest individual seasons ever.
Wanna take a guess about Jokic...?
Jokic has done it five straight seasons. 5! Straight!
The only knock
Now, there's one knock against calling this the highest peak ever: defense.
And defense is criminally underrated in these kinds of metric and stat systems that determine a player's impact.
Jokic is solid on that end. Nothing spetacular, but not a complete liability either. Maybe unless he's totally gassed.
He's smart, he's usually in the right spot, he doesn't make many mistakes.
But he's not the defensive force that Jordan, LeBron, or Hakeem were.
Those guys were wrecking teams on both ends.
So the question becomes: can being the most unstoppable offensive force we've ever seen make up for being just pretty good at defense?
Good question. I want to say yes.
Mindblowing
Here's what really blows my mind: Jokic has been the best player in the world for about five years now.
Do you know how rare that is? It is very rare.
In NBA history, maybe seven guys have held that crown for more than two or three years: Kareem, Bird, Magic, Lebron, Jordan, maybe Shaq, or Duncan as well.
That's it.
Now Jokic is in that club, and he's doing it while playing a brand of basketball we've never seen before.
We're watching something special in Denver. In terms of individual performance.
Will this translate to a championship? Another one? That's another question, entirely. And not too likely, I would say.
But it sure as hell doesn't take away from the facts that this 7-foot Serbian is the most complete, stat-recking player ever seen on an NBA court.
The highest peak ever?
Is it?
Whether or not this is the highest peak ever, I don't know. Up until now, it just might be. The future could change that, of course.
What I do know is that Jokic has taken offensive basketball to a level that shouldn't be possible. Statistically. Measured by decades of NBA basketball.
He's not just the best player on the planet right now– he's showing us things we didn't think could be done on a basketball court.
And he's doing it without jumping out of the gym or making SportsCenter's top 10.
Instead, he's just out there playing basketball like a 7-foot savant, making everything look easy in a way that feels both old-school and completely revolutionary.
I don't know if we'll ever settle the debate about the greatest peak in NBA history. But I do know this: Every time I watch Jokic play, he makes me question everything I thought I knew about what's possible in basketball.