“The hallmark of excellence, the test of greatness, is consistency.” – Jim Tressell To say it was unexpected is an understatement. Possibly no one said it better than Nikola Jokic himself, sitting in front of a small stable while in a conversation with TNT’s Ernie Johnson… Johnson: Did you always consider yourself a long-shot? Jokic: If it’s not me, who…...
“Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” – Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption Hope is the name of at least three cities in the United States. Hope is the name of a cousin of mine. Hope is a dessert at this cool little place I went to in Arkansas.…...
“And if it’s bad, don’t let it get you down You can take it And if it hurts, don’t let them see you cry You can make it Hold your head up Hold your head high” – Argent, “Hold Your Head Up” Turns out the Denver Nuggets are facing just a few too many heads at the moment. Heads held…...
1. One of the big improvements to Nikola Jokic’s game over the last few seasons has been his comfort level attacking the basket off of the dribble. He shot 68.4% on 1.8 field goal attempts off of drives this season, by far the best mark among players with at least 1.8 attempts per game. Most of Jokic’s drives come off…...
Inside an unforgettable evening where Jokic shrugged off another MVP and gave his teammates credit for his latest individual accomplishment.
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” – Stephen Covey “I was reading a book… ‘the history of glue’ – I couldn’t put it down.” – Tim Vine I’ve been really lucky to get to spend the last three decades of my life singing in…...
The Colorado Avalanche are taking on the Calgary Flames tonight, but Nathan MacKinnon will be out. Will Nazem Kadri step up and make us the money that MacKinnon usually does? Ryan Koenigsberg thinks he will. Sweet boy Henry Chisholm of the DNVR Buffs beat thinks that the money is in NBA basketball. Join the fellas as they go through it…
From 2012-15, Dejan Milojevic was Nikola Jokic's coach at Mega Basket, the professional club in Serbia that the NBA's reigning MVP played for before arriving in Denver. Now, Milojevic is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors but still maintains a strong relationship with his most successful former player.
Milojevic had a major impact on Jokic's basketball upbringing and is one of Jokic's role models. Some of the reads and passes Jokic makes today were originally taught to him by Milojevic, a Serbian legend himself and three-time Adriatic League MVP who helped Yugoslavia win gold at EuroBasket 2001.
I caught up with Milojevic before the Nuggets hosted the Warriors on Monday night.
Harrison Wind: I'm guessing you watched his 46-point game against the Pelicans last night.
Dejan Milojevic: Every season I think that he can't play better and he proves me wrong. So I'm really happy that every season he's improving and maturing. All I can say is I'm enjoying watching him play.
HW: Is there a game of his that comes to mind that you think was his most dominant?
DM: History has taught me that his best game is still to come. I really think that now every segment of his talent has improved. He's dominating the floor. We all try from other teams to stop him, and nobody's done that successfully this season. I'm really proud of him.
HW: Take me back to 2012. What were some of your earliest memories of Nikola?
Continued for DNVR Members below.
“Find the sweetness in your own heart, then you may find the sweetness in every heart.” – Rumi My grandma had a reputation around her neighborhood. She was always chipping in with a bake sale. Always volunteering at the shelter. Always handing out cookies to kids dropping by to say hi. If she was in the kitchen, whatever she was…...
1. The Nuggets have made this 5-4 screen in transition a staple of their fastbreak offense whenever Nikola Jokic brings the ball up the court. One forward will either rim run or sprint to the corner while the two guards occupy each wing. The other forward will set a transition PnR at the top of the key and roll hard…...
“And you scramble down And you look below And the world you know Begins to grow The roof, the house and your Mother at the door The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore And you think of all the things you’ve seen And you wish that you could live in between And you’re back again…...
1. I really love the Reed-Hyland combination, primarily for the fact that you combine two players with “sneaky wingspans.” It’s well documented that the league is skewing longer on the perimeter but often times that is thought of merely as “taller.” But wingspan and reach may be just as important as height and “sneaky wingspan” may be even more valuable…...
1. “I love to play with him.” That’s what the reigning MVP said about JaMychal Green when asked about playing alongside him in the starting lineup over the last two games. You can see a certain chemistry between those two on the court. More importantly, you can see a certain skillset that JMyke brings that is unique to the Nuggets’…...
1. I’ve been harping on the Nuggets coaching staff giving Nikola Jokic the Facu-Rivers backcourt for the last several weeks. That trio somehow manages just a 93.9 offensive rating in 95 minutes so far this season, an unfathomably low mark for a lineup featuring the reigning MVP and one of the most dynamic offensive engines in the league today. It…...