Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic finished third in the 2015-16 Rookie of the Year voting, the league announced today.
Jokic, 21, was the 41st overall selection in the 2014 draft and averaged 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 21.7 minutes in 80 games for Denver this season. Jokic started 55 of those 80 games and shot 51.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point land.
The Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns won the award unanimously while Jokic finished with 7 second-place and 38 third-place votes. The Knicks’ Kristaps Porzinigs finished second with 117 second-place votes.
The Serbian’s counting stats don’t stand out on paper, but dig a little deeper and it’s apparent how valuable Jokic was to the Nuggets this season.
The rookie’s 21.58 PER ranked him tied with DeMar DeRozan for 24th highest in the league and second to Towns among rookies that logged upwards of 20 minutes per game. The Nuggets additionally had a +1.2 NetRtg with Jokic on the floor, making him the only Nuggets player to score a positive rating this season. Denver’s offense was also nearly three points better and their defense allowed seven points per 100 possessions less with him on the floor.
Jokic didn’t play as many minutes as other top rookies but his per-36 stats compare favorably.
Basketball Reference
The 21-year-old also ranked eighth in the league in RPM and first among all rookies.
Jokic enters next season as the starting center in Denver and has established himself along with Emmanuel Mudiay as the core that would ideally spend the next decade together in the Mile High City.
Read more about Jokic’s rookie season here.
Mudiay finishes 7th, receives four third-place votes
Mudiay put a rough first half of the season behind him and finished the year on a high note.
Credit: Getty Images
Mudiay averaged 12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists in 30.4 minutes for Denver this season. The No. 7 overall pick played in 68 games and shot 36.4 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from 3-point range.
After poor shooting percentages and high turnovers plagued the rookie over the first half of the season, Mudiay was able to refocus his game when he missed nearly a month with an ankle injury.
Mudiay came back with more poise and decisiveness, and averaged 14.9 points on 39.3 percent shooting from the field and shot 36.4 percent from three after the All-Star break.
We recapped Mudiay’s rookie year here.
