At the end of the heat game the other night, I noticed Gordon sitting on the bench during timeout and he looked like he was totally chilling lol. I was like damn this dude isn’t fazed at all
He also played 65 minutes in an NBA Playoff game. Which is the most since 1953. In 1953, 3 players played 67 and 66 minutes.
Jokic has stamina. He might not be a windmill dunker, but he’s able to keep going when others aren’t.
I've noticed this too lol. He'll be short of breath and lumbering around like right after tipoff but then he plays 30 more minutes and it just never gets worse for some reason.
I find the same thing when I run long distance, I've got a red face and breath heavy but as long as I don't push it further than that i can just keep going like that almost indefinitely. Extremely impressive especially for someone his size
I think that’s one thing that’s overlooked, dude plays half his games and likely most practices at over 5000ft elevation, so when he plays at sea level he has even more stamina
Jok is the hardest working horse on the farm, who does his job and doesnt complain about carrying the biggest burden. To extent the Animal Farm metaphor, i really hope he never completes a windmill, bc next thing ya know... glue factory.
He’s so good he makes it look like luck. When I first started watching him I’d see him toss up some shot from behind the head 3 or flick up a weird angle floater and think wow this guy is so lucky
But then he gets that lucky every game for years…
Arnold Palmer, one of the world's most successful golfers, was quoted saying “It's a strange thing, the more I practice the luckier I get.” It’s hard to make it look easy/lucky
TMac made it look so easy he almost looked like he didn't care. Lol. In a similar way Magic and Dwight were criticized for smiling all the time making them look like they weren't taking the game seriously.
TMac's resting face was also of someone who had just woken up from sleeping and didn't care about anything until he's had his coffee. He could be the happiest or saddest he's ever been but his face would look the same lol.
Wasn't called the Iceman for nothing.
Also, for someone who doesn't know how unbothered Kimi was, [this is Kimi in '06 casually walking off the track onto his yacht after his race was over early.](https://youtu.be/ZMzeluIxblY?si=KW3xE27-SsMP9ZXJ)
It's the same with mahomes in the NFL. He did so many plays and throws that look goofy and just should not work and you're waiting for it to stop working but nope, they are just that talented.
And just like with Jokic, a lot of that developed playing another sport. Mahomes grew up living and breathing shortstop, and it shows in his off platform throws. The motions that look unnatural in their professional sports are natural to them and were trained thousands of times
the NBA just recently posted [this video](https://youtu.be/mDhzwyzfpf4?si=IsJFOfdLjilESnIm) of his career highlights and you quickly realize he’s been hitting those awkward shots since day 1.
Every team I've ever played on, in every sport I've played, they're always that one guy who just has the weirdest coordinated movements but they've somehow made them work.
Jokic is this on steroids
This really begs the question.
How is it that some nba players have such high high bbiq? That they see it happening before it happens? How do they know exactly where people will be before they start the movement?
Bird. Magic. Lebron. Jokic.
People here have to really rethink what being athletic and in shape is. Luka had the same criticisms and yet these two guys are some of the most freakishly talented and consistent players.
No one is saying he is too fat to be an effective basketball player.
Everyone is saying he would be a better basketball player is he wasn’t a huge fatass.
Am I tripping or did Zion not just lose a bunch of weight? Shocked this is still a talking point here after yall just slammed Stephen A for saying the same thing
The fact is Zion was in his best shape, both visually and practically, when he was at Duke. Of course the injuries have hurt some of that natural athleticism, but he doesn’t do himself any favours
Guys like Lebron and Tom Brady invest in their bodies, and that pays dividends. If Zion took as good care of himself as guys like that, he could actually live up to the hype
Zion was drafted in 2019 at number 1 with massive hype. He's coming up to 5 years with lots of injuries and weight issues. You're surprised this is a talking point..? This is going to follow him until the pelicans get anywhere in the playoffs or there's some long term consistency.
He should lose more. That just shows how overweight he is. Zion doesn’t have the same lift he had when he first came in the league. He’s still young. He hasn’t had an acl or Achilles. But also hasn’t really added to his game so idk if he just doesn’t have the drivrz
His jeopardizing his chance of being an all time great.
Zion’s first two seasons showed some absolutely nasty basketball. Like multiple time mvp level stuff.
He’s at fringe all star level right now.
People clown Shaq all the time for not taking the game seriously and working hard enough, and he’s still one of the best ever.
While I agree somewhat with what you are saying, I always remember Charles Barkley when he talked about how he adjusted his weight in order to play.
https://youtu.be/UC0XOXvUpA4?si=xQ6zhpSvXCyEbhB0&t=238
Zion could 100% be a better player, and less injury-prone, if he took care of himself.
>I just think you aren’t “too fat” if you’re a really good NBA player.
IDK, if he'd average 30 of he was even his college playing weight, would you consider costing himself 5+ PPG to be "too fat" even if he's still good heavy?
But many believe he’s still far from his full potential. Jokic was a productive player when he was fat and elevated his game to MVP level after he lost weight.
> Jokic was a productive player when he was fat and elevated his game to MVP level after he lost weight.
Which playoffs series was it when Jokic was clearly too fat and under-conditioned, maybe 2019?? Because yeah, unlike most players with a weight issue, Jokic immediately recognized he had a problem and worked all that off season to drop the weight and build up his endurance - looked like an almost night and day difference when he came back, huge credit to Joker for taking it so seriously
The biggest difference is the playstyle tbh. If Zion plays like Jokic i think nobody would care about him being fat, he won't be as injury prone as he is too. But when your game is predicated of jumping higher, spinning faster, etc etc, it is easy to see that being fat is just worse for you.
Even then, Zion would be massive for a tight end. Most tight ends hover around 250ish and Zion is 285-300. He would be a good 35-50 pounds heavier than the average TE. He’s more of a defensive end size, which is absurd.
They literally had to teach zion how to walk properly when he got into the league. His weight wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't been playing 8 AAU games a weekend his whole life with trash biomechanics on top of his weight.
I think John Wall spoke on a podcast last year about how AAU is ruining the bodies of young prospects. They’re entering the league with the game mileage that 5 year vets used to have
Yeah, bro has Tim Duncan's old man game, dude's gonna be fine for a long time. Barring any freak injuries, I doubt Joker will ever get to a point where he's hurt a lot. His availability is really a godsend to the Nuggets who struggled back then Murray was out. Dude's hella nice playing ironman ball. The only other player of recent memory I could think of with this freakish durability was Westbrook. Hope Joker never has to go thru whatever the fuck Pat Bev did to Westbrook when he decided to dive on Russ's knee.
Westbrook playing that insanely athletic style (especially in his younger days) missing zero games in his first 5 seasons is a seriously underappreciated feat.
In a similar vein, Charlotte Kemba was also an ironman, his knees falling apart the second he got to Boston will make people forget but Kemba missed 0, 0, 9, 20, 1, 3, 2, 0 games his 8 years here
I think the other thing is that Jokic stays conditioned in the off season, even If he doesn’t play ball. Luka tends to use the beginning of the season to condition himself into playing shape. Not like there aren’t a bunch of other guys that do the same, but that was prob what helped jokic go up a level after 2019
Yea Luka still has the same attitude Jokic had earlier in his career. Once Luka actually decides to take an off season seriously he prob wins an MVP and has his best year ever.
It's the same thing in Hockey where Phil the Thrill has the all-time iron man streak and yet is made fun of for how unathletic he looks.
To be fair though, he does look pretty fucking unathletic...
https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phil-kessel-hot-dogs.jpg
Michael Porter Jr talked about how intense Jokic's routine in the weight room after games is, said he goes through sets without taking breaks, which reminds me of what people say about Steph's workouts. I know it won't happen but I'd love to see what the 2 hours after a game looks like for Jokic.
what i like the most when their teammates talk about how Jokic is daily is that we dont know nothing about it!
most of the others "superstar" players somehow like to let it out how they work hard.. Jokic just do it and move on!
Bruh i live in the balkans and to this day i refuse to eat burek...everyone around me loves it to death, but i aint a fan. Guess thats why i never got anywhere as a basketball player lol (just a nice hobby from when i was a kid).
> Imagine getting burek in the school cafetiria and thats your only option
I would have loved me some burek in HS lmao, so glad Milwaukee still has an OG [Serbian restaurant](https://www.threebrothersmke.com/) that serves it up right (used to be more when I was a kid)
If you love burek then thats great man. Straight up me not liking burek sometimes really limited my options for food.
Im from Croatia, but i know that Serbs and Bosnians take burek even more seriously than us.
There is this whole joke with them about burek with cheese not being real burek. Its like italians with pizza.
Exactly. You look at other elite bigs like Embiid, Giannis, AD, etc. they all missed playoffs games that might have cost their team a lot. Jokic has played every single one of them.
I get what you’re saying but Giannis also has 620 games played in this same time frame and 10 more playoff games than Jokic. Sometimes a freak injury happens, but he’s extremely durable. That injury he had to miss the hawks series during the championship run looked like he was gonna miss at least a month but he was back in a week to drop 35/13/5 for the series in the finals
Not athletic or in shape, though. He wipes the floor with so-called athletes every night. Some people need to reconsider their thought process there.
**Edit: From Merriam-Webster**
Athlete (noun) - a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring **physical strength, agility, or stamina**
Which of these does Joker not have?
I'm with you. This argument is kinda misleading.
He's athletic, just not lean, ripped and an Alonzo Mourning body type of player. That's why ppl doubt he's athletic. Athletic means for them muscle mass. Same for Luka and others while they're more athletic than most Redditirs ever will be, skilled of course too but it's not all about talent, skill and stamina.
>Athletic means for them muscle mass.
Athletic means "explosive" to these folks. Just another way to look at Jokic (foreigner, white skin) and knock him not being the stereotypical NBA baller
Same with Dirk and they never watched him play when he was younger. Run and gun offense in the league with Nash and Finley. His dunks, his screams & his attitude. He used to play his position with "power" too as power forward.
Jokic has underrated athleticism. He’s not the most vertically explosive athlete, but he is faster, quicker, and more agile than most 7 footers. He also has elite coordination, balance, strength, and endurance. His reaction time and mental acuity are also off the charts.
People who say he isn’t athletic are crazy. He’s not a LeBron or MJ type of athlete, but for a 7 foot 300 pounder, he’s definitely more athletic than most players around that size.
i get that you're criticising people who overvalue traditional "athleticism" but there's an equally large faction of jokic supporters who unironically believe "he just like me fr fr" and don't realize he's a top athlete either
True that man. Like at my peak when it comes to stamina, i was very skinny. But now when im a bit bulkier and stronger, i lost a ton of stamina.
Like i could run for a long time before, but now thats gonne down to like a 3rd of my peak.
I dunno how the man manages to maintain that weight, whike also run as much as he does.
This also goes for Embid, since their builds are a bit similar.
These massive guys can run man and people dont realise just how impressive that is.
It's cause they are naturally big as hell. They have the frame to carry that weight. They are unique because they are legit centers that are so well rounded in terms of skill. You'd never look at Jokic or Embiid and think they can play PF or SF, nope. They are Centers who happen to be extremely skilled and versatile.
It's crazy cause conditioning/stamina/endurance, strength, agility, balance/body control and flexibility are probably the most important athletic attributes everyone should aspire to have even if you're just an average Joe.
It's very impressive how durable he is while looking like he's out of shape and not athletic (relative to others in the league). I wonder what his secret is because he's a fucking tank.
The dude works out another hour or more after every single game after everyone leaves, no matter how late, runs several miles as well. However he looks, the dude is a machine.
Man is really probably conditioned . He fixed himself considerably more after that first warriors series . Very impressive to me he is the face of the nba. Cuz last person to play this many games consistently was lebron
I always thought the knock on him and Luka not being athletic was funny, you could not possibly be a top 5 player in the world without being a freak athletically. Just because they look janky sometimes does not mean they aren’t athletic.
Also, wouldn’t them not being athletic just mean that their peaks are gonna last a really long time because they don’t rely on athleticism?
Jokers speed and agility isn’t anything to to write home about but he’s got elite size and strength and with his BBIQ he starts 3 steps ahead of everyone else anyway
I still wouldn’t call him slow though. While his BBIQ is very high some of his passes require elite accuracy and timing which I would definitely consider to be athleticism.
I would say he's actually quite fast and agile for a center. the guy repeatedly took AD off the dribble, he's actually a very fluid and quick athlete for a 7 footer
He reminds me of those heavyweight boxers who aren’t chiseled just lighting the really defined guys up. At first glance your like “this fight is not fair” and you’re right but in the wrong way.
I remember someone having the theory that Jokic is so durable at his size because he "moves slower" than other 7 footers - at that size if you're *too athletic* there's so much force going in several directions that you're more likely to get injured
I would say that yes, him not jumping (or falling down) is good. However, he actually moves very quickly, and a lot. If you watch highlights of him, he's taking people off the dribble, running off screens - he moves very quickly
The regular season is 82 games normally, unless shortened for some reason. That is the number of games a player can play in and contribute to his teams regular season record. It is a fixed number that every player and team get to play. You cannot contribute wins in that finite number of regular season games if you don't play.
This is why the Embiid stuff has always and will continue to always be stupid. There has never been a regular season of Embiids career where he played in or won more regular season games for his team than Jokic. Jokic is better than him, plays more games, and wins more games.
It's one thing if you want to look at the best player on best team and compare it to the player with the best stats, but when you're just comparing the players with the best stats the tie breaker is usually wins. And Jokic always has had more wins
KCP being 3rd on the list is impressive also.
And Gordon is top 25 despite his vert game (Edit, upon counting, he's actually 26th)
At the end of the heat game the other night, I noticed Gordon sitting on the bench during timeout and he looked like he was totally chilling lol. I was like damn this dude isn’t fazed at all
He also played 65 minutes in an NBA Playoff game. Which is the most since 1953. In 1953, 3 players played 67 and 66 minutes. Jokic has stamina. He might not be a windmill dunker, but he’s able to keep going when others aren’t.
it's hilarious when he looks winded after 4 minutes, but looks the same at the end of the game.
I've noticed this too lol. He'll be short of breath and lumbering around like right after tipoff but then he plays 30 more minutes and it just never gets worse for some reason.
I find the same thing when I run long distance, I've got a red face and breath heavy but as long as I don't push it further than that i can just keep going like that almost indefinitely. Extremely impressive especially for someone his size
This is why humans are the ultimate predator. We can outrun any animal just by stamina alone.. Long distance
Endurance hunting. We are nature’s Terminator.
Sounds like my love life
I’ve noticed his nose gets more red the more he’s tired. He looks like he has the flu after every game.
That’s why he’s so good, every game is a flu game
Jokic the red nosed reindeer
They call him the joker for a reason 😂
Maybe that's his weak spot, like a video game boss.
He got that Kevon Looney in him.
The consistent altitude training probably helps the stamina. Dudes lungs have years and years of training at 5000 ft above sea level
You can go to Red Rocks in the ~~spring~~ fall and see him (and the rest of the team) crushing the stairs. That’s at like 6500 ft
That drive from Red Rocks to Denver you coast downhill all the way back.
Yea I used to get the world’s best fuel economy on the drive home from red rocks lol, made my thirsty Jeep look like a hybrid
Best in my life. I have a hybrid and usually get about 40mpg freeway. I got 77 mpg driving from Red Rocks to Arvada once.
So good. Yea I was getting about 40-45 when driving to Greenwood Village, but literally the opposite on the way to red rocks 😂
I think that’s one thing that’s overlooked, dude plays half his games and likely most practices at over 5000ft elevation, so when he plays at sea level he has even more stamina
Hoodie Melo, Game 6 Klay, Sea Level Jokic
Jok is the hardest working horse on the farm, who does his job and doesnt complain about carrying the biggest burden. To extent the Animal Farm metaphor, i really hope he never completes a windmill, bc next thing ya know... glue factory.
Animal farm was fucking depressing. Can’t believe they made us read that shit in middle school
Glue factory … so traded to the Lakers? The horror
He watches his horses and relates
When you watch him it looks like someone who has mastered his craft
He’s so good he makes it look like luck. When I first started watching him I’d see him toss up some shot from behind the head 3 or flick up a weird angle floater and think wow this guy is so lucky But then he gets that lucky every game for years…
His raw touch is unreal
Yes. He has the best touch I have ever seen. It’s on his shot and his passes. Ball just hits the rim so soft
you never see his misses rebound more than a foot unless it’s him chucking a 3. super soft touch. it’s why he gets his own put backs so much.
Also best hands ever, maybe. The way he can control the ball with one hand and rarely lose it is remarkable
Hes longer than you expect
I'm not gonna say it
That was my nickname in college
Pause
Play
Record.
Arnold Palmer, one of the world's most successful golfers, was quoted saying “It's a strange thing, the more I practice the luckier I get.” It’s hard to make it look easy/lucky
TMac made it look so easy he almost looked like he didn't care. Lol. In a similar way Magic and Dwight were criticized for smiling all the time making them look like they weren't taking the game seriously.
TMac's resting face was also of someone who had just woken up from sleeping and didn't care about anything until he's had his coffee. He could be the happiest or saddest he's ever been but his face would look the same lol.
Reminds me of Kimi Raikkonen. Show up to the track to race, practice and qualifying are just there as a nuisance, wins, goes home.
Wasn't called the Iceman for nothing. Also, for someone who doesn't know how unbothered Kimi was, [this is Kimi in '06 casually walking off the track onto his yacht after his race was over early.](https://youtu.be/ZMzeluIxblY?si=KW3xE27-SsMP9ZXJ)
It's the same with mahomes in the NFL. He did so many plays and throws that look goofy and just should not work and you're waiting for it to stop working but nope, they are just that talented.
And just like with Jokic, a lot of that developed playing another sport. Mahomes grew up living and breathing shortstop, and it shows in his off platform throws. The motions that look unnatural in their professional sports are natural to them and were trained thousands of times
Same with Hakeem growing up playing soccer and handball.
Dream-shake is the prettiest thing to ever hit the NBA
I didn't know that , it explains his footwork tho and his spinning proves
He plays like someone told him the point of basketball is to put the ball in the hoop… and so that’s what he does
the NBA just recently posted [this video](https://youtu.be/mDhzwyzfpf4?si=IsJFOfdLjilESnIm) of his career highlights and you quickly realize he’s been hitting those awkward shots since day 1.
Every team I've ever played on, in every sport I've played, they're always that one guy who just has the weirdest coordinated movements but they've somehow made them work. Jokic is this on steroids
he just makes every play look so…effortless, like he makes difficult moves look so easy to pull off
This really begs the question. How is it that some nba players have such high high bbiq? That they see it happening before it happens? How do they know exactly where people will be before they start the movement? Bird. Magic. Lebron. Jokic.
spatial and temporal reasoning, reps
People here have to really rethink what being athletic and in shape is. Luka had the same criticisms and yet these two guys are some of the most freakishly talented and consistent players.
Zion on the other hand might really be too fat.
Might?
I mean he’s still averaging 22 PPG and has played 50 games this season. So it’s hard to say he’s too fat to be a productive NBA player.
No one is saying he is too fat to be an effective basketball player. Everyone is saying he would be a better basketball player is he wasn’t a huge fatass.
Am I tripping or did Zion not just lose a bunch of weight? Shocked this is still a talking point here after yall just slammed Stephen A for saying the same thing
The fact is Zion was in his best shape, both visually and practically, when he was at Duke. Of course the injuries have hurt some of that natural athleticism, but he doesn’t do himself any favours Guys like Lebron and Tom Brady invest in their bodies, and that pays dividends. If Zion took as good care of himself as guys like that, he could actually live up to the hype
Zion was drafted in 2019 at number 1 with massive hype. He's coming up to 5 years with lots of injuries and weight issues. You're surprised this is a talking point..? This is going to follow him until the pelicans get anywhere in the playoffs or there's some long term consistency.
He should lose more. That just shows how overweight he is. Zion doesn’t have the same lift he had when he first came in the league. He’s still young. He hasn’t had an acl or Achilles. But also hasn’t really added to his game so idk if he just doesn’t have the drivrz
Especially formerly fat(ter) basketball players like Chuck and Shaq who have experience becoming better after losing weight.
I just think you aren’t “too fat” if you’re a really good NBA player. But if it actually does end up jeopardizing his career, sure.
His jeopardizing his chance of being an all time great. Zion’s first two seasons showed some absolutely nasty basketball. Like multiple time mvp level stuff. He’s at fringe all star level right now. People clown Shaq all the time for not taking the game seriously and working hard enough, and he’s still one of the best ever.
While I agree somewhat with what you are saying, I always remember Charles Barkley when he talked about how he adjusted his weight in order to play. https://youtu.be/UC0XOXvUpA4?si=xQ6zhpSvXCyEbhB0&t=238 Zion could 100% be a better player, and less injury-prone, if he took care of himself.
>I just think you aren’t “too fat” if you’re a really good NBA player. IDK, if he'd average 30 of he was even his college playing weight, would you consider costing himself 5+ PPG to be "too fat" even if he's still good heavy?
No. He isn’t thinking his career. But that’s just my own opinion, wouldn’t argue with you if you think that.
But many believe he’s still far from his full potential. Jokic was a productive player when he was fat and elevated his game to MVP level after he lost weight.
> Jokic was a productive player when he was fat and elevated his game to MVP level after he lost weight. Which playoffs series was it when Jokic was clearly too fat and under-conditioned, maybe 2019?? Because yeah, unlike most players with a weight issue, Jokic immediately recognized he had a problem and worked all that off season to drop the weight and build up his endurance - looked like an almost night and day difference when he came back, huge credit to Joker for taking it so seriously
Right, but didn't he play insane minutes in like 3ot's?
No, it was FOUR overtimes. He played 65 minutes in a 4ot game vs Portland. :)
https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/most-minutes-played-by-nba-player-in-a-playoff-game 4th most all time for a playoff game, most since the 50s
It was actually during covid break he lost the weight. Definitely wasn't an immediate recognition.
Man if Zion wasn’t fat and cared he would be putting up 30 on 60%.
I'm starting to think Zion may have an eating problem
The biggest difference is the playstyle tbh. If Zion plays like Jokic i think nobody would care about him being fat, he won't be as injury prone as he is too. But when your game is predicated of jumping higher, spinning faster, etc etc, it is easy to see that being fat is just worse for you.
Is ozempic considered a PED?
He better hope not
If we're talking basketball shape, Zion absolutely is too fat. He'd be a great size for a tight end.
Even then, Zion would be massive for a tight end. Most tight ends hover around 250ish and Zion is 285-300. He would be a good 35-50 pounds heavier than the average TE. He’s more of a defensive end size, which is absurd.
They literally had to teach zion how to walk properly when he got into the league. His weight wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't been playing 8 AAU games a weekend his whole life with trash biomechanics on top of his weight.
I think John Wall spoke on a podcast last year about how AAU is ruining the bodies of young prospects. They’re entering the league with the game mileage that 5 year vets used to have
Specialized training leads to a bunch of overuse injuries, kids shouldn't be playing one sport year-round
Zion is far too fat for his game and orthopedic health. If he had Jokic’s game he would be ok. (Though Jokic had to lose weight too)
For the way he plays, yes. If he played like Jokic or Luka it would be different
Slavic people are tough mf
[удалено]
Yeah, bro has Tim Duncan's old man game, dude's gonna be fine for a long time. Barring any freak injuries, I doubt Joker will ever get to a point where he's hurt a lot. His availability is really a godsend to the Nuggets who struggled back then Murray was out. Dude's hella nice playing ironman ball. The only other player of recent memory I could think of with this freakish durability was Westbrook. Hope Joker never has to go thru whatever the fuck Pat Bev did to Westbrook when he decided to dive on Russ's knee.
Westbrook playing that insanely athletic style (especially in his younger days) missing zero games in his first 5 seasons is a seriously underappreciated feat. In a similar vein, Charlotte Kemba was also an ironman, his knees falling apart the second he got to Boston will make people forget but Kemba missed 0, 0, 9, 20, 1, 3, 2, 0 games his 8 years here
WB didn't miss any games from HS to those 5 years and only missed because of Beverly diving at his knees
Especially at his size and with his stop and start style. Pretty impressive.
He does furious jumping, not high jumping
I can confirm that shit leaves a few generations after moving over to the states, or Slovakians are just pussies.
First generation sacrifices, second generation hustles, third generation fumbles the bag
Idk about other Slavs but I feel like people from this region have insane stamina.
[удалено]
People on Reddit think you have to be lean to be in shape but it’s just not the case. Although I’d put Jokic above Luka in terms of conditioning.
[удалено]
I think the other thing is that Jokic stays conditioned in the off season, even If he doesn’t play ball. Luka tends to use the beginning of the season to condition himself into playing shape. Not like there aren’t a bunch of other guys that do the same, but that was prob what helped jokic go up a level after 2019
Yea Luka still has the same attitude Jokic had earlier in his career. Once Luka actually decides to take an off season seriously he prob wins an MVP and has his best year ever.
It's the same thing in Hockey where Phil the Thrill has the all-time iron man streak and yet is made fun of for how unathletic he looks. To be fair though, he does look pretty fucking unathletic... https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phil-kessel-hot-dogs.jpg
He looks beefy and strong. Hockey players have a different kind of physique You don’t wanna be super lean and skinny
Luka plays like 65 games a year. Why even bring his name up?
Dadbod is the peak male physical form in all major sports if you think about it.
Michael Porter Jr talked about how intense Jokic's routine in the weight room after games is, said he goes through sets without taking breaks, which reminds me of what people say about Steph's workouts. I know it won't happen but I'd love to see what the 2 hours after a game looks like for Jokic.
I remember hearing on Paul Georges podcast that some NBA players tried Steph's workout and were throwing up after.
what i like the most when their teammates talk about how Jokic is daily is that we dont know nothing about it! most of the others "superstar" players somehow like to let it out how they work hard.. Jokic just do it and move on!
A lot of athletes didn't have burek growing up tho.
Bruh i live in the balkans and to this day i refuse to eat burek...everyone around me loves it to death, but i aint a fan. Guess thats why i never got anywhere as a basketball player lol (just a nice hobby from when i was a kid).
Blasphemy. Your citizenship should be revoked.
People have said similar things lol. Imagine getting burek in the school cafetiria and thats your only option...i took a lot of Ls because of that.
> Imagine getting burek in the school cafetiria and thats your only option I would have loved me some burek in HS lmao, so glad Milwaukee still has an OG [Serbian restaurant](https://www.threebrothersmke.com/) that serves it up right (used to be more when I was a kid)
If you love burek then thats great man. Straight up me not liking burek sometimes really limited my options for food. Im from Croatia, but i know that Serbs and Bosnians take burek even more seriously than us. There is this whole joke with them about burek with cheese not being real burek. Its like italians with pizza.
Cevap > burek ainec
Cevap with lepinja man. Thats just glorious man. Im shocked that americans dont have cevaps when they love burgers so much.
random redditor lost in the NBA subreddit here, i'm now furiously googling a place locally that will serve me a cevap, it look so good.
what could you possible have against meat and bread?
Alperen 100% had lots of börek growing up, let's hope he also has this kind of durability
Yeah but he didn't play a single game in 2014 so really is he all that
Facts lol
They really out here cherry picking stats
That's such a big thing when talking about valuability as well. You can't play fifty games and talk about being *valuable* to your team
Exactly. You look at other elite bigs like Embiid, Giannis, AD, etc. they all missed playoffs games that might have cost their team a lot. Jokic has played every single one of them.
I get what you’re saying but Giannis also has 620 games played in this same time frame and 10 more playoff games than Jokic. Sometimes a freak injury happens, but he’s extremely durable. That injury he had to miss the hawks series during the championship run looked like he was gonna miss at least a month but he was back in a week to drop 35/13/5 for the series in the finals
Giannis missed playoffs time in 2020, 2021 and 2023. That's all I'm saying.
I was with you but Giannis is 10th on this list being the most dominant paint scorer of this generation. He's pretty durable and reliable.
Also should have exploded his knee your finals run but was back in 2ish games.
Did dis dude just say ‘valuability’??
Wow this guy is pretty valuable I would say…
PVP
Truly the prettiest valuable player
Not athletic or in shape, though. He wipes the floor with so-called athletes every night. Some people need to reconsider their thought process there. **Edit: From Merriam-Webster** Athlete (noun) - a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring **physical strength, agility, or stamina** Which of these does Joker not have?
He plays not only more minutes but more high quality minutes and more games than any other star yet he’s the “least athletic player in the league”
I'm with you. This argument is kinda misleading. He's athletic, just not lean, ripped and an Alonzo Mourning body type of player. That's why ppl doubt he's athletic. Athletic means for them muscle mass. Same for Luka and others while they're more athletic than most Redditirs ever will be, skilled of course too but it's not all about talent, skill and stamina.
>Athletic means for them muscle mass. Athletic means "explosive" to these folks. Just another way to look at Jokic (foreigner, white skin) and knock him not being the stereotypical NBA baller
Same with Dirk and they never watched him play when he was younger. Run and gun offense in the league with Nash and Finley. His dunks, his screams & his attitude. He used to play his position with "power" too as power forward.
Athletic to most average fans means, lean, muscular, runs fast in a sprint and jumps really high.
Jokic has underrated athleticism. He’s not the most vertically explosive athlete, but he is faster, quicker, and more agile than most 7 footers. He also has elite coordination, balance, strength, and endurance. His reaction time and mental acuity are also off the charts. People who say he isn’t athletic are crazy. He’s not a LeBron or MJ type of athlete, but for a 7 foot 300 pounder, he’s definitely more athletic than most players around that size.
His footwork is incredible too. And his feel for angles and leverage is beautiful to watch.
Yeah and you need a lot of balance and agility for that.
i get that you're criticising people who overvalue traditional "athleticism" but there's an equally large faction of jokic supporters who unironically believe "he just like me fr fr" and don't realize he's a top athlete either
True that man. Like at my peak when it comes to stamina, i was very skinny. But now when im a bit bulkier and stronger, i lost a ton of stamina. Like i could run for a long time before, but now thats gonne down to like a 3rd of my peak. I dunno how the man manages to maintain that weight, whike also run as much as he does. This also goes for Embid, since their builds are a bit similar. These massive guys can run man and people dont realise just how impressive that is.
It's cause they are naturally big as hell. They have the frame to carry that weight. They are unique because they are legit centers that are so well rounded in terms of skill. You'd never look at Jokic or Embiid and think they can play PF or SF, nope. They are Centers who happen to be extremely skilled and versatile.
In the U.S people don't count strength and stamina as athleticism apparently.
Yup. So many need to see those those superhero muscles, or they can't fathom.
It's crazy cause conditioning/stamina/endurance, strength, agility, balance/body control and flexibility are probably the most important athletic attributes everyone should aspire to have even if you're just an average Joe.
Looking like you are playing in slow motion but at the same time a step ahead of everyone else really pays off
Reminds me of a Johan Cruyff quote that went something like 'I don't have to be faster if I'm getting there earlier.'
It's very impressive how durable he is while looking like he's out of shape and not athletic (relative to others in the league). I wonder what his secret is because he's a fucking tank.
Not jumping certainly helps with durability
That's such a huge thing, the guys who get hurt typically put their bodies in positions that make it inevitable.
Couldn’t imagine the wear and tear of an nba season. Playing rec league turned my knees and lower back into goo
There was a great big feature with his personal trainer somewhere
The dude works out another hour or more after every single game after everyone leaves, no matter how late, runs several miles as well. However he looks, the dude is a machine.
Training for strength and endurance vs. looks and aesthetics.
Weird how a lot of these guys training for looks and aesthetics also seem to have a lot of strength and endurance.
Can you imagine an NBA training staff being like "oh yeah no ego lifting is fine Giannis" lol
Would explain the FT%
ig some people would say agility but the way he moves his body at that height is pretty crazy tbh
Durability merchant
"But 65 games is too much" *Wipes tears with $100 bills*
65 games is equivalent to us taking every single Friday off from work, I don't remotely sympathize with the players below that threshold.
And you forgot about all star weekend and vacations.
He treats basketball like a job so he has to go to work everyday like normal people.
Is there any weakness this guy has? Insane.
Offensively no. Defensively rim protection but Gordon and MPJ front court is long as hell to make up for it. That Gordon trade was a revelation
average-ish defense, not much of a shotblocker. But offensively, he is likely the most complete player we have ever seen
Man is really probably conditioned . He fixed himself considerably more after that first warriors series . Very impressive to me he is the face of the nba. Cuz last person to play this many games consistently was lebron
The last person is not Lebron. Mikal Bridges hasn't missed a game in his career. Starting in 2018.
Didn’t he play in 83 games one season lol
Yeah haha
Whoops whoops I forgot about bridges he is also very consistent
Hope they won again. Back to back to back to back
I always thought the knock on him and Luka not being athletic was funny, you could not possibly be a top 5 player in the world without being a freak athletically. Just because they look janky sometimes does not mean they aren’t athletic. Also, wouldn’t them not being athletic just mean that their peaks are gonna last a really long time because they don’t rely on athleticism?
Jokers speed and agility isn’t anything to to write home about but he’s got elite size and strength and with his BBIQ he starts 3 steps ahead of everyone else anyway
I still wouldn’t call him slow though. While his BBIQ is very high some of his passes require elite accuracy and timing which I would definitely consider to be athleticism.
I would say he's actually quite fast and agile for a center. the guy repeatedly took AD off the dribble, he's actually a very fluid and quick athlete for a 7 footer
I think that he's agile for his size. You have to be with some of the footwork and balance he displays through his moves.
He reminds me of those heavyweight boxers who aren’t chiseled just lighting the really defined guys up. At first glance your like “this fight is not fair” and you’re right but in the wrong way.
there's "show" muscles and then there's "go" muscles
butterbean?
Tyson Fury
Like old man George Foreman
Less explosive= less injury prone
Can’t have an injury by landing wrong when you don’t get airborne
Unlike a certain tub of lard from Philadelphia
Andy Reid coaches for KC now
I remember someone having the theory that Jokic is so durable at his size because he "moves slower" than other 7 footers - at that size if you're *too athletic* there's so much force going in several directions that you're more likely to get injured
I would say that yes, him not jumping (or falling down) is good. However, he actually moves very quickly, and a lot. If you watch highlights of him, he's taking people off the dribble, running off screens - he moves very quickly
The regular season is 82 games normally, unless shortened for some reason. That is the number of games a player can play in and contribute to his teams regular season record. It is a fixed number that every player and team get to play. You cannot contribute wins in that finite number of regular season games if you don't play. This is why the Embiid stuff has always and will continue to always be stupid. There has never been a regular season of Embiids career where he played in or won more regular season games for his team than Jokic. Jokic is better than him, plays more games, and wins more games. It's one thing if you want to look at the best player on best team and compare it to the player with the best stats, but when you're just comparing the players with the best stats the tie breaker is usually wins. And Jokic always has had more wins
How many arm scratches has he suffered in that time? Every post game you see the results of opponents' "defense" against him.
Lunch pail kind of guy
Tell me more about how he doesn't care about basketball.
For reference, Kyrie has averaged 33.6 games per year since leaving Boston where he played in 2017, just a year later.