BSN Exclusive: Nikola Jokic's summer centers around improving his most glaring deficiency

For four days in August, the basketball world’s focus will shift to Serbia for the 17th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Europe — an event that brings together the top under-17 male and female players on the continent to learn from NBA players and coaches and compete against one another.

It’s only fitting that the country’s top basketball talent will be there to celebrate. Fresh off agreeing to terms on a five-year, $148 million contract with the Nuggets, that will become official once Nikola Jokic puts pen to paper in the coming days, Denver’s star center will be on hand as BWB brings its camp to Serbia for the first time. Joining Jokic in Serbia for the event are Nuggets’ shooting guard Gary Harris and player development coach Ognjen Stojakovic, who played and coached in Serbia before joining the Nuggets in 2014. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and other players and coaches also plan on attending.

“That means a lot for the country because Serbia is a basketball country,” said Stojakovic after returning from a seven-day excursion in his home country where he worked out Jokic. “It’s fun to bring the NBA to Serbia because we’ve had some great NBA players like Peja Stojakovic, Vlade Divac and now Jokic. NBA basketball is getting back in Serbia with Nikola.”

Jokic is the country’s biggest athlete since tennis star Novak Djokovic. Since transforming from an unknown second-round pick to an All-NBA level talent who last year became the fifth player in league history to score at least 3,000 points, grab at least 2,000 rebounds and record at least 1,000 assists in his first three NBA seasons, Jokic is mobbed whenever he makes a public appearance in his home country.

“You know how you guys say ‘Next big thing?’ He’s the next big thing,” Stojakovic said. “Before Nikola, it was Novak Djokovic. Now, it’s Nikola, then Jesus Christ.”

Ahead of a pivotal season in Denver where playoff expectations will be higher than they’ve ever been in his career, Jokic is staying busy by focusing on his most glaring deficiency: defense.

“Our main focus is defense, specifically his foot speed,” Stojakovic said. “Defense is something that he has still space to improve on.”

Overall, Denver improved upon its 29th-ranked defense in 2016-17 but still didn’t play well enough on that end of the floor to break its five-year playoff drought. The Nuggets finished the season ranked 26th in defensive efficiency. Denver sat at home and watched as the league’s top teams hunted out switches and feasted on slow-footed defenders isolated by themselves out at the three-point arc in the playoffs.

Jokic was one of those players targeted in those situations time and time again by expert shot makers. While his defensive rebounding and positioning make him an underrated defender at times, he still found himself helpless out on the perimeter too often. On occasion, Jokic held his own. Sometimes he was exposed. Those scenarios only figure to amplify in the playoffs next season if the Nuggets qualify.

A goal that Jokic has this offseason is to take the necessary steps so that he isn’t one of those players. Stojakovic ran Jokic through a number of drills last week, both in live and scripted situations that are tailored around increasing his lateral quickness.

“For example, one drill makes Nikola move side to side and keep the ball in front of him for 10 seconds and then he gets to take a couple shots,” Stojakovic explained. “Then again, he’ll have to stay in front of the ball for five or seven or 10 seconds depending on the situation. He gets rewarded with a shot after playing good defense.”

Jokic is also placing a priority on staying in shape this offseason, according to Stojakovic.

While quicker feet and a slimmed-down frame will help Jokic on the perimeter, a healthy Paul Millsap could be the most meaningful addition Denver makes on the defensive end. In the 868 minutes that Jokic and Millsap played together last season, the Nuggets held their opponent to 106.0 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com — much lower than the 108.0 points per 100 Denver gave up on average per 100 possessions on the year. Millsap was key in covering up some of Jokic’s mistakes. Like here, when Lou Williams catches Jokic on a switch and gets a step on the big man but Millsap is able to recover and draw the charge.

When Milsap sat, the Nuggets’ defensive rating rose to 109.5.

For all the work Jokic is doing in the practice gym this summer, he’ll have to translate it to the court this season. He doesn’t have to stop Harden out on the perimeter — few in the league can quell the league’s most valuable player when isolated — he’ll just need to make life a little more difficult for him.

“He is very very focused this year,” said Stojakovic. “His body and game both look really good.”