At 6-11, 284 pounds, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic towers over most of his opponents and has the size to overpower them when necessary. While many NBA players choose to approach the game with an aggressive approach, Jokic has always had a more smooth and effortless style. That may be why some people were surprised to see the Serbian superstar dunking on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Led by a dominant all-round performance from Jokic, the Denver Nuggets won Game 5 112-97 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The center finished with 40 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists and two very impressive dunks during the victory. During the postgame conference, Jokic was asked by a reporter why he is suddenly choosing to dunk to ball.
“I mean I had an open lane…I am a freak of nature. Why not show my athleticism,” said Jokic to the delight of the members of the media.
"I'm a freak of nature." 😂
Jokic speaks on revealing his dunk package against the Timberwolves 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/iqK4Q8eZsz
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2024
During Game 3, Jokic had a thundering dunk over Anthony Edwards. On Tuesday, he had a two handed dunk early in the first quarter. His final dunk of the night was on a breakaway in the fourth quarter and teammate Jamal Murray, who had the assist on the play, seemed more excited about the slam than Jokic did.
The reigning MVP has been fantastic over the Nuggets last three victories and even the NBA’s defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert is having trouble slowing him down. Minnesota will need to find a way to contain the big man on Thursday if they have any hopes of keeping the series alive.
