After a relatively slow start to the 2019-20 season, Nikola Jokić bounced back in a major way throughout the month of December, leading the Nuggets to a 10-6 record in the month.
Although Denver was winning games over the first month or so of the season, Jokić was still playing his way into form. Once the calendar flipped to December, the Nuggets’ Serbian All-Star took off, as he averaged 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game in 16 games this month.
Jokić was coming off a 2018-19 season in which he made his first All-Star appearance and was named to the All-NBA First Team, a prestigious honor. After playing in the FIBA World Cup over the summer, Jokić has gradually found a rhythm over the course of the 2019-20 campaign.
After some losses early in the month, Jokić’s teammates emphasized how good the team can be when he is at his best, highlighting the dominant impact he can have on every single game.
“Listen, man, we gotta play through him,” teammate Will Barton III said after the Nuggets fell to the Lakers on Dec. 4. “Every year that’s going to work best for us. We’re a good team when he’s not scoring, but we’re a great team when he’s being dominant down there. We have championship potential when he’s cooking.”
A key area of growth for the Serbian big man in December was his 3-point shooting. Going from 23.6 percent in November to 39.3 percent in December from beyond the arc made Jokić a more diverse scorer and also provided more floor-spacing for his teammates to attack the basket. Overall, Jokić’s efficiency from all areas of the court made big leaps in December, as he finished with a 62.9 true shooting percentage, a significant increase over the 51.0 percent he posted in November.
The impressive numbers and impact only continued as the month went along and the Nuggets hope that this level of play is exactly what they will be able to count on through the remainder of the season as the team looks to improve on the 54 wins it secured in 2018-19.
For the first time in this 2019-20 season, Jokić is your Nugget of the month. If his recent play is any indication, it certainly won’t be the last time.