Nikola Jokic is an artist keeping the way of the post scorer alive

As the league pushes farther out the 3-point line, the art of post scoring has fallen by the wayside. Only four teams averaged more than five attempts from post-ups on a nightly basis in the 2021-22 season. Just six seasons prior, 24 teams took more than five post shots per game. This continual trend amplifies just how special Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic is.

Breaking the mold of his contemporaries, Jokic has added to his post arsenal each year. The two-time MVP improved his scoring average in all but one of his seven years as a pro, devastating his opponents using an art form that’s meticulous yet dazzling when deployed right. While the other greats of his time etch their names into history with pull-up jumpers and deep 3s, Nikola Jokic is the timeless warrior who unsheathes his sword at a gunfight and comes out victorious.

By the numbers, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets dominate the low post.

Beyond dominating as a low-post scorer, Jokic adapted his post game by catering to modern times. When planted on the block, Jokic effectively improves his team’s spacing by sucking gravity to the basket like a black hole, delivering higher-quality outside looks for his teammates.

Denver led the NBA in both post-up field goal attempts and percentage last year. The team also managed to stay atop the rankings in post-up points per possession behind Jokic’s masterful skillset with his back to the basket. Nailing a tick under 63% of his shots in this range, Jokic led all players who took at least one post-up field goal attempt per game last season and beat them in post-up points per possession as well. So what makes him so special from the low block?

Nikola Jokic is a master of classic post stylings with new flair.

Simple in concept but difficult in reality, the post game takes exceptional timing, body control and footwork to grasp. For Nikola Jokic, this all begins with a simple pivot foot, which is his key to manipulating defenders. First and foremost, Jokic is partial to a drop step in which he leverages his weight against a defender and spins off their side, creating a clearer lane to the basket.

If he’s farther from the paint, Jokic deploys a half-spin which gives him room to run toward the rim. While driving, ‘The Joker’ uses his sliver of space to assess passing lanes and dish to his opponents, draw contact or finish one of his signature moves: a silky reverse layup with his back to the cylinder. At this stage in the NBA’s evolution, there’s no one else playing with a combination of proficiency and finesse from the post.

The most important aspect that connects either of these go-to moves is Jokic’s aforementioned pivot foot. Part of his post mastery is the aptitude for keeping one foot planted while rotating the rest of his body off the other. Jokic does what I like to call a ‘one and a half-spin,’ where he turns 180 degrees for an initial spin, briefly pauses, and rotates back into a traditional back-to-the-basket pose.

This usually throws a defender off their axis, giving him an entry point to pivot one last time and take a shot. It’s usually a baby hook, but if the defender stands their ground, he’ll take a more traditional, wide-angled hook. It might be considered a reset into a second pivot, but Jokic rotates so quickly that it appears to the naked eye like he’s pivoting thrice.

Although the fadeaway is the flashiest shot you could take from the block, and one that he nails quite frequently, it’s also the least efficient attempt a player can take from the post. That’s why Jokic picks his spots methodically, pulling up for post fades when facing double coverage or being sealed off from his preferred destination.

Denver encourages Nikola Jokic by funneling its offense into the post.

On average, the only teams that funnel their offense through the post consistently these days are the Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. This is largely a byproduct of their star players’ abilities, but for the Nuggets, the post is also a conduit through which the overall offense can thrive.

To aid his superstar, head coach Michael Malone deploys unique sets that come to a head with Jokic posted up near the basket — usually on the right side, where he’s most comfortable. Denver’s primary ball-handlers are well-versed in pinpoint entry passes to ensure that Jokic can get to work in the zone where he’s best positioned to score.

If not for Nikola Jokic, young basketball fans and hopeful up-and-coming bigs wouldn’t have someone to inspire them from the low post. Although Jokic’s Eastern Conference counterpart, Joel Embiid, is a fantastic post player in his own right, he’s still not on ‘The Joker’s’ level from the block. It wouldn’t be possible without the encouragement of the Nuggets’ coaches and players.

Art and basketball are the same in that they’re free-flowing expressions of one’s will that ebb and flow with trends of their time. The ways we view them will change as we evolve as a people. Old styles will always return and innovators will push the envelope to create new styles for eternity. In modern basketball, the post-up is an undesirable technique associated with old-school hoops.

But for all of the junkies still clinging on to the beauty of post play, Nikola Jokic is a living testament to its ability to persevere.