Nikola Jokic has his fair share of elite moments on the biggest stage, but he prefers playing a weaker opponent for a personal reason.
As the best player in the world, the quality of the opponent doesn’t seem to matter too much to Nikola Jokic.
Last season, he averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to finish in the top three in all three major categories.
Despite his dominance against all 29 other teams, he relishes the chance he gets when the Denver Nuggets get to play one specific opponent.
Nikola Jokic loves playing the Washington Wizards
Some players like returning to their hometown, some players like playing against their former team, and some players enjoy getting to play against their rivals.
The Washington Wizards, for Jokic and the Nuggets, fit none of those criteria, although he still enjoys any chance he can get to play them.
“There are definitely some performances that stand out to me, like every time we go to Washington, DC,” reflected teammate Peyton Watson. “They have a huge Serbian population there, and as soon as you walk into the arena with Joker, they’re going crazy as if we’re the home team.”
While Washington doesn’t have a massive population of Serbian immigrants, it seems like there is at least a large portion of people of Serbian descent in the area, and it sounds like all of them are basketball fans.
“It’s always crazy to me that he can just flip it on and decide, ‘I’m going to get 50 tonight because there are a lot of fans here,’” Watson added. “It’s pretty crazy when he does that.”
Since Jokic entered the league in 2015, the Wizards have won only a single playoff series, so it helps that he’s playing against a weaker opponent, although when he suits up against Washington, he dominates.
Numbers support Jokic tapping into a new level
Since the Wizards are an Eastern Conference team, meetings between the Nuggets and Wizards are few and far between.
However, Jokic makes the most of his chances. Against all 29 opponents throughout his career, he has dominated Washington.
Of all his opponents, he averages the most points (25.9), second most rebounds (12.1), and best field goal percentage, by far (62.2% compared to second-place Nets at 59.7%).
His 6.8 assists per game against the Wizards are actually down from his career average of 7.2, although that is because he is looking to score when he plays against Washington.
He averages 16 field goal attempts per game against Washington, with only four Eastern Conference teams topping that mark: 16.1 FGA against the Knicks and Hornets, 17.1 against the Bucks, and 17.7 against the Pacers.
It’s worth noting that Indianapolis, New York, and Milwaukee all have larger Serbian populations than DC, and the Hornets are one of the rare teams worse than the Wizards throughout Jokic’s career.
