DALLAS — Nikola Jokic spent the weekend rubbing shoulders with basketball’s biggest stars. As the Nuggets first All-Star selection since Carmelo Anthony eight years ago, Jokic ran pick and rolls with Russell Westbrook, joked around with Steph Curry and soaked up wisdom from Dirk Nowitzki. Jokic was teammates with three former MVPs in Charlotte, an experience any hooper would be envious of. Even so, Jokic couldn’t help but feel FOMO.
“Juancho,” Jokic said when asked which player he aspired to be like, “because he’s in Mexico.”
Hernangomez was in Cabo San Lucas, the resort town on the Baja California peninsula, with his brother Willy, a center for the Charlotte Hornets, and a few friends. Sunday, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic joined them after competing in the Rising Stars Game and Skills Challenge.
“I was calling him almost every day to see how it was going,” Hernangomez said. “He told me how jealous he was.”
Jokic, Hernangomez and Doncic will all be in the same place Friday when the Nuggets face the Mavericks. It’s both team’s first game out of the break and a rematch of their wild Dec. 18 duel, which Denver won 126-118. Jokic and Doncic grew up in the same basketball-crazed region of Eastern Europe and are only four years apart but never played against each other until two months ago. Hernangomez, meanwhile, had already seen Doncic up close a number of times because both cut their teeth as pros in the Liga ACB, Spain’s top basketball league, before jumping to the NBA.
“I already knew him before he came here,” Hernangomez said. “The year before, I told the guys in the locker room that he’s going to be the number one pick. He was third, but he deserved to be number one. He’s going to be Rookie of the Year.”
Doncic, nicknamed “El Niño Maravilla” (translation: Wonder Boy) by a Spanish newspaper, signed with Real Madrid at 13, debuted for the senior club at 16 and led Slovenia to a EuroBasket title at 18. He’s been successful at every level, and that has continued in the NBA. Doncic is averaging 20.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists for a Mavericks team that’s already won two more games this season (26) than in 2017-18 (24). Clutch scoring ability, a killer stepback 3 and passing wizardry have made Doncic the clear-cut Rookie of the Year so far.
“He’s like Joker: He plays basketball so easy,” Hernangomez said. “We think he’s like 40 years old. He’s got the experience. He always makes the right play.”
Doncic doled out 12 assists when the Nuggets and Mavericks played in December, picking apart Denver in the pick and roll with perfectly placed lobs and 30-foot frozen ropes.
“He has a lot of talent,” Jokic said. “He’s willing to pass the ball. He has a big body for a point guard. And he can see above the other players. He’s really good in pick and roll. He’s got the stepback, of course, 3-point shot. When he has a little bit more experience just to see different coverages, he’s going to be really good. I think he’s probably going to be an All-Star one day.”
Hernangomez’s Doncic-Jokic comparison is a good one even if one prefers to shoot stepback 3s and the other likes to bull over defenders down low. Both affect the game in many different ways, and Doncic is one of the few players in the league who comes close to passing the ball like Jokic, whom Hernangomez considers Denver’s point guard.
“Playing through him is our best play,” Hernangomez said. “He can make full-court passes. He can pass in the half court. He can rebound and dribble the ball. We’ve just got to be aggressive.”
Hernangomez contributed 12 points in Denver’s and Dallas’ matchup two months ago. It was one of the last times he reached double digits before the All-Star break. His playing time dwindled as he dealt with an abdomen injury that affected his range of motion. Hernangomez is hoping to come back rejuvenated against an old friend after relaxing in Mexico, though.
“We faced each other a bunch of times in Europe, in the European Championships, in the Spanish League,” Hernangomez said of Doncic. “We played one on one. He came over to my house. We have a really close relationship, but once the game starts we are like enemies.”
