NIKOLA JOKIĆ CHASES MVP TITLE Man of his word – he promised 50 and delivered He is the league’s
moment he was drafted, as the 41 st pick in the second round, a television commercial from one of the spon- sors was showing. Instead of his pic- ture, screens were filled with tacos. Today, however, everyone is very familiar with Jokić. Opposing play- ers have nightmares prior to duelling with the Serbian centre, who con- tinues to break records. His name is often linked with legends like Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Lar- ry Bird, Shaquille O’Neal... He has emulated many of them, and even surpassed some. And all that was achieved by a guy who, upon arriv- al in Denver and the NBA, had only one wish… “I want to go home. I’m the youngest child and I miss my parents,” said Jokić when making his bow on the biggest stage in world basketball at the tender age of 20. However, he’ll have to wait for that. He maintained a trip-double average for a long time this season and was selected as the best player of the Western Conference in Decem- ber and January. A few days prior to receiving the award, Jokić scored 47
points against Utah, with the Jazz having arrived in Denver on the back of a series of 11 straight victories. Everyone is still citing the statement he made after the match, when he was asked why he didn’t try to score 50 points. “I didn’t because we didn’t need it. I’ll score 50 when we need it,” replied Jokić. A week later, Nikola fulfilled his promise by scoring 50 points against Sacramento. He thus be- came the first center in the history of the NBA league to have a match with 50 points and more than 10 as- sists (12 assists against Sacramen- to) since the three-pointer was in- troduced in 1980. He also became the only player in the NBA league, after the great Bill Walton, to record double-double performances in 20 matches. That’s precisely why he’s the top favourite to receive the MVP trophy that’s re- served for the league’s best player. The decision will only come in July, but we all know already that Jokić is a wonder among the superstars of the NBA. postao prvi centar u istoriji NBA lige koji je od 1980. godine, kada je uvedena trojka, imao meč sa 50 poena i više od 10 asistencija (12 asistencija protiv Sakramenta). Postao je i jedini igrač u NBA ligi, posle velikog Bila Voltona, ko- ji je na 20 mečeva upisao dabl-dabl učinak. Zato i jeste glavni kandi- dat za MVP trofej namenjen naj- boljem košarkašu lige. Odluka će biti doneta tek u julu, ali već sada svi znamo da je Jokić čudo među NBA superzvezdama.
least selfish player and probably its most skilful. He’s the favourite to secure the MVP trophy that’s reserved for the league’s best player, but all he really wants is to win. And what Nikola wants, Nikola gets O n the night when he was recruited by the Denver Nug- gets, Nikola Jokić was fast asleep at his house in Sombor. His older broth- er, Nemanja, called from New York to give the family the good news from the NBA draft. While cham- pagne corks popped in the Big Apple, a groggy Nikola reluctantly picked up the phone. ‘You’re going to the NBA! How can you sleep?!’ yelled Nemanja from America. That was on 26 th June 2014, and the fans of the NBA didn’t even know what Jokić looks like, because at the Vilt Čembrlen, Oskar Robertson, Leri Bird, Šakil O’Nil... Mnoge je stigao, neke i prestigao. A sve to postigao je momak koji je po do- lasku u NBA i Denver jedino že- leo… „Hoću da se vratim kući. Najmlađe sam dete i nedostaju mi roditelji“, rekao je Jokić, ko- ji je sa 20 godina stupio na naj- veću košarkašku scenu. No to će morati da pričeka. Ove sezone je dugo imao trip-dabl prosek, a izabran je i za najboljeg igrača Zapadne konferencije u de-
Tekst/Words: Aleksandar Pjevac Fotografije/Photography: Profimedia.rs
cembru i januaru. Nekoliko dana pre nego što je dobio nagradu, Jo- kić je ubacio 47 poena Juti, ko- ja je u Denver došla sa nizom od 11 pobeda. Svi još prepričavaju njegovu rečenicu posle meča, ka- da su ga upitali zašto nije zapeo da postigne 50 koševa. „Nisam, jer nam nije bilo potrebno. Kada bude trebalo, ubaciću 50“, odgo- vorio je Jokić. Nedelju kasnije Nikola je ispu- nio obećanje – postigao je 50 ko- ševa protiv Sakramenta. Tako je
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