If anything, Jokic went under the radar in his rookie season. hat’s not to say
he didn’t get plenty of kudos, it’s just that he was part of a stacked rookie class.
Karl-Anthony Towns was a monster in the 2015-16 season and New York Knicks
center Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t far behind. Plus, playing on a Denver team that
inished 11th in the West helped keep Jokic’s name out of the headlines. He did,
however, surprise many by inishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Not many pundits would have predicted a sot-looking (or some might say
“chubby”) 20-year-old would impact the league in such a way. His physical con-
ditioning was one of Denver’s irst projects with him.
Before training camp he tipped the scales at over 290 pounds. he Nuggets
staf then instilled a regimen that caused him to lose more than 30 pounds. Jokic
is never going to be a physical specimen like LeBron James or some other NBA
stars. Current rookie sensation, Luka Doncic drew plenty of criticism himself
for his weight as well. He could look to his fellow Balkan sensation Jokic as a
blueprint to how he can still remain efective and it despite his proportions.
he breakout game for Jokic in his rookie season came against the San Anto-
nio Spurs. He put up a 20-10 game (23 points, 10 rebounds) against one of the
best power forwards of all-time in Tim Duncan. he Joker had arrived.
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