Anyone who has watched Nikola Jokic play knows there’s virtually nothing on a basketball court he can’t do. Now, he’ll put those skills to an all-star level test.
On Wednesday, Jokic was selected to compete in the NBA’s skills competition. He’ll replace Philadelphia big man, Joel Embiid, who cannot participate because of injury. Whether Jokic’s inclusion in the “All-Star Saturday Night” event is as a replacement or not, Nuggets coach Michael Malone had one reaction to the news: Itap about time.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what took so long,” Malone said. “I don’t what the NBA is watching sometimes. Nikola Jokic should have been in the skills challenge when they named the guys. No disrespect to the other guys, but itap a credit to him and how well he’s been playing that he’s being noticed by the NBA. But we here in the small city of Denver, Colorado, have known how good he is for a long time.”
Jokic said he was excited for the opportunity.
“I think it will be fun,” Jokic said. “I’m going to be there with guys who are talented.”
Jokic is arguably the most-skilled center in the league. He is among the top five at the position in assists and entered Wednesday night with averages of 16.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He had 22 double-doubles.
Jokic had already been part of the “Rising Stars Challenge,” the game featuring the NBA’s best first- and second-year players. That game will be played Friday night, but won’t include Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who was originally selected to play.
Mudiay is going to miss the game as he continues to rehab a sore back that has forced him to miss six consecutive games and 10 overall. Mudiay was replaced by New York’s Willy Hernangomez, brother of Nuggets rookie Juancho Hernangomez.
Footnote. The Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried (ankle), Danilo Gallinari (groin), Wilson Chandler (illness), Darrell Arthur (knee) and Mudiay (back) missed Wednesday’s game. It is unclear whether any of them will be available for the Nuggets’ first game after the all-star break, Feb. 23 at Sacramento.
