Denver Nuggets: 2017-18 player grades for Nikola Jokic

Strengths

Nikola Jokic’s ability to make plays was hard to ignore in 2017-18. The Serbian big man was so impactful that he averaged 7.1 assists per game in victories and 4.8 assists per contest in losses. With the ball in his hands, Jokic is a guy with a high IQ.

Jokic turned things up in the final three months of the regular season and it showed as the Denver Nuggets finished 20-11 down the stretch. He put up eight triple-doubles and 12 double-doubles across the span of February, March and April.

The most impressive part of Jokic’s season was he shot 56.3 percent from 3-point range in the month of February, showing off his versatility from 3-point range.

Defensively he still has a lot of room for work, but Jokic’s defensive rating of 108.0 was actually one of the best marks on the team, and his net rating of +4.6 was the best on the team.

Whether it’s as a scorer or a passer, Jokic was hard to deny in the West this season. There were some bumps in the road as Jamal Murray continued to transition to the point guard position, but still, the results were positive considering their youth.