NBA Analyst Breaks Down Nikola Jokic’s Incomplete Gameplay After Serbia’s EuroBasket Upset

“Joker, no matter what happens, is the best big man in the league by far. Period. Nobody else in the conversation.” Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy about giving flowers, and in Nikola Jokic’s case, the praise is constant. The Nuggets star makes a nightly triple-double at altitude look effortless, a three-time MVP redefining what a center can be. But even the most unshakable resumes reveal cracks under the right spotlight—and Jokic’s chink in the armor became more glaring after the shock EuroBasket upset.

On the latest Locked On NBA episode, Danny Cunningham and Swipa analyzed Jokic’s dominance, discussing his all-around game and what is a miss in his game. Placing him number 1 on the upcoming top 100 NBA players list was a real possibility. “I think it’s really hard to pass up on what Jokic is right now. But, uh, you know, definitely as we’re not talking about EuroBasket a lot. We saw some of the struggles Jokic can have, too, you know, when he’s playing versus five-out teams, even in EuroBasket, and he has to cover the three-point line versus smaller, more versatile players. So he has his own flaws, same way anybody else does.”

Nikola Jokic’s defensive tendencies are not on par with some of the former Bigs in the history of the NBA. But offensively, he is a class apart. Last season, the 7x All-Star averaged 29.6 points and 10.2 assists, both career highs, alongside 12.7 rebounds on 62.7 eFG%. On the other hand, the opponents shot 70% at the rim when Jokic was on the court, which is his worst rim protection mark in his career. Plus, with Joker on the floor, the team allowed 4.5 more points per 100 possessions in 2024-25 than they did in ’23-24.

That’s why Swipa on Locked on NBA criticized the cons of Jokic being in the first place. “…But I think he doesn’t have the rim protection stuff in the regular season you want, but in the playoffs, he actually has led to a negative defensive field goal percentage as a rim protector, but a lot of the issues are just around his mobility.” In fact, Swipa even called the Joker the “worst defender” in comparison to Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and Celtics great Bill Russell.

No doubt Nikola Jokic has his issues while defending, but it’s also due to the personnel on the team. For context, the two players, Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr, who are no longer on the team, were susceptible to the team’s bad defense. The Denver defense was at its worst (116.2 points allowed per 100 possessions) with Westbrook on the floor last season. Overall, the team’s starting lineup allowed 114.4 per 100 in its 426 minutes. When you remove Porter Jr. from the equation, the team got better. As they allowed just 105.6 per 100 in 123 minutes with the other four starters on the floor without Porter.

This season could be different for Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets

Before starting the next season, the Serbian wore national team colors for the EuroBasket. Unfortunately, despite being favorites, it was Lauri Markkanen’s Finland that proved too hot to handle in the shock loss during the R16 contest. Jokic had his usual 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists on the night. But with their captain, Bogdan Bogdanovic, injured, it was only Nikola Jovic (20 points) who scored in double digits. So, just like the previous season for the Nuggets, the depth issue led to another exit for the Joker.

However, the upcoming season for the Nuggets is different. Because the front office has worked its magic. They flipped the MPJ contract and a 2032 first-round pick for Cameron Johnson from the Nets. While upgrading the player, the Nuggets also saved almost $17 million, meaning a healthy salary cap. They spread the $38 million salary between Johnson, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas. And the latter is the throwback center with the brute force that the team needs.

When Nikola Jokic gets his rest, Valanciunas can prosper. Last season, the Lithuanian got 18.8 minutes on average from the bench and scored 10.4 points and grabbed 7.7 rebounds. Solid for the 33-year-old, and provides the alternate that the Nuggets fans were looking for. Now, will that be enough for the Mile-High City? Only time will tell.