DENVER — Nikola Jokic left a straightaway three-point shot about two feet short in the third quarter Tuesday. Jokic had plenty of time to get it off over Pacers center Myles Turner. He set his feet, squared up and unfurled but air balled the shot anyway.
A season ago, such an egregious miss might have deterred Jokic from trying any more long balls. On Tuesday, he let another one go later that quarter and watched it swish through the net.
Jokic’s outside stroke has drastically improved in his third season. He enters Thursday’s national TV game against the Minnesota Timberwolves shooting 39.8 percent on 3.7 three-point attempts per game. He’s taking almost twice as many three balls this season compared to last and is converting them at a 7 percent higher rate.
“He figured it out,” Nuggets player development coach Ognjen Stojakovic said. “He completely figured it out.”
Stojakovic spent hours in the gym with Jokic last summer. Jokic returned to his hometown of Sombor, Serbia, during the offseason to see his family but also to grow his game. Jokic came out of nowhere and emerged as the focal point of one of basketball’s most high-powered offenses last season. Even so, there was still so much room for him to grow, which is why the Nuggets sent Stojakovic and former strength and conditioning coach Steve Hess overseas to work with their franchise cornerstone.
“The main idea was that the three-point shot should be as good as mid-range shots,” Stojakovic said. “That was the main goal. Let’s build habits because he didn’t have the habit of shooting the three-point shot. The main idea was let’s build your habits.”
Jokic shot a blistering 59 percent on mid-range shots last season. Stojakovic knew the numbers and saw the soft touch. It was clear Jokic was capable of improving his three-point shot; he just needed to become more comfortable shooting from that range.
“His first two years, he didn’t emphasize his three-point shot,” Stojakovic said. “It was mid-range, mid-range, mid-range. His third year, we wanted him to take more. More threes. We changed his pre-game routine. And it paid off.”
Jokic was always deadly around the rim and from those in-between zones. Now he’s comfortable enough to let if fly from anywhere. 26 percent of Jokic’s field-goal attempts come from behind the arc; that’s up from 16 percent a season ago.
Jokic is one of four centers this year shooting at least 38 percent on at least three three-point attempts per game. The others are Miami’s Kelly Olynk, Boston’s Al Horford and Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, who Jokic figures to spend most of Thursday’s game matched up against.
“I mean I did a really good job of working this summer,” Jokic said. “I think the three-pointer is an (important) aspect in the game. Look at Houston. They score a bunch of threes, and they’re winning the games. I think that’s a really good example of how threes have an impact in the game. I just want to improve my game.”
