This wild comparison puts Nikola Jokic’s playoff production in perspective

Nikola Jokic’s peak has been absurd, winning two NBA MVPs, an NBA Finals MVP and a championship.

What the center has done in the past few years unlike any other player in Denver Nuggets history. And at his best, he’s one of the greatest player’s a basketball court has ever seen. But a good question is, what does the absolute peak of Jokic’s peak look like. Or simply said, what are the best games or stretch of games in Jokic’s career?

Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, a Nuggets reporter who always has insightful notes, went to answer this question on social media Wednesday. What he found is that Jokic’s best game by a metric known as Game Score came against New Orleans on March 6, 2022. According to Box Plus-Minus, his best was actually all the way back on April 11, 2018 against the Wolves.

Nikola Jokic's best game by game score:

46 PTS (16-of-22 FG), 12 REB, 11 AST, 4 BLK, 3 STLhttps://t.co/koftmG0GEw

Nikola Jokic's best game by box plus/minus (min. 30 MIN):

35 PTS (11-of-11 FG), 11 REB, 11 AST, 4 STL, 1 BLKhttps://t.co/uxaD2zNudw https://t.co/UtiMFQjSSx

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) July 12, 2023

So what does a bigger sample than 48 minutes of Jokic’s peak look like? Take his 596 career regular season games with an average of 20.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists and take the best 100 ones and what do you get? Well, the 100 best games of Jokic’s career is basically exactly what his 20-game postseason run with this year’s Nuggets looked like.

In those 100 games, Jokic’s line looks like: 31.8 points, 12.9 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.9 blocks, 69.7 2P%, 48.5 3P%, 84.1 FT%

Whereas Jokic in the 2023 playoffs line was: 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.0 blocks, 56.8 2P%, 46.1 3P%, 79.9 FT%

Nikola Jokic's 100 best regular-season games:

31.8 PTS, 12.9 REB, 9.2 AST, 1.7 STL, 0.9 BLK, 69.7 2P%, 48.5 3P%, 84.1 FT%

Nikola Jokic in the 2023 playoffs:

30.0 PTS, 13.5 REB, 9.5 AST, 1.1 STL, 1.0 BLK, 56.8 2P%, 46.1 3P%, 79.9 FT%

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) July 12, 2023

It’s undoubtedly that Jokic rose to the occasion as Denver sped to a 16-4 record in beating the Wolves, Suns, Lakers and Heat en route to their first-ever title. The amazing play earned Joker the Finals MVP and almost everyone thinks he’s the best player on the planet right now.

But when you add the context of what Jokic looks like at his very best, and say that’s exactly what he was in the playoffs, it lends some deeper appreciation to just how great the Nuggets’ star really is.

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