Denver Nuggets: 5 takeaways from the 2018-19 NBA season

4. Nikola Jokic is just scratching his surface

This past season, Jokic made his first All-Star appearance on the back of leading the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals. He also shot an impressive 51.1 percent from the field. He could have averaged a triple-double with the way that the offense flows through him. It’s not often that you find a center with the ability to handle and pass the ball that Jokic has. He’s only going to continue to develop those skills.

Jokic averaged 7.3 assists per game last season. He’ll likely handle the ball even more next season than he did this year, so that number should only continue to grow. He had a 27.4 percent usage rate, and a 37 percent assist rate. He was assisting on just over one-third of his teammates’ buckets, and even that number feels low consider how much of an influence he has on the game.

The major key for him next season will be for him to continue to show the aggressiveness he had during the playoffs. He needs to make the effort to touch the ball on every possession and make the offense run through him rather than around him. He is the hub that the offense runs around, and he needs to put it in full throttle more often to continue his ascension.