CHICAGO — Nikola Vučević knows there isn’t anything new to say about Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić.
“He’s pretty OK,” the Chicago Bulls center joked after practice Tuesday at the Advocate Center. “He’s a stat padder, though, so I don’t know.”
All that’s needed to understand Jokić's credentials is a simple glance at the stat sheet. He averages a triple-double — 24.4 points, 11.8 rebounds, 10 assists — for the team with the Western Conference’s best record (46-19).
As the Bulls prepare to face the Nuggets on Wednesday in Denver, the game plan will be centered around the impossible task of slowing the two-time MVP.
“He’s obviously a one-of-a-kind player,” Vučević said. “You just don’t really know what to expect when he has the ball. He’ll be looking one way and throw a crazy pass to the other side of the floor.”
Vučević, 32, and Jokić, 28, share a long-standing friendship as part of a close-knit fraternity of players from Europe and specifically the Balkans. Their childhood hometowns — Bar, Montenegro, for Vučević and Sombor, Serbia, for Jokić — are nine hours apart by car.
Although they came up at different times, Vučević was aware of Jokić's rising star during the latter’s final years playing in Serbia before the Nuggets drafted him in 2014.
“You could tell, it’s just a natural talent,” Vučević said. “He has a natural feel for the game. It’s just not something you teach. It’s something he was born with.
“You can tell when he plays basketball, it’s just joy for him. It’s easy. It just comes natural to him. That’s what makes him so unique.”
The countries that once formed Yugoslavia have been a hotbed for NBA talent for decades, producing players such as former Chicago Bulls star Toni Kukoč from Croatia.
The region remains well-represented in the NBA: Jokić, Boban Marjanović, Bogdan Bogdanović, Aleksej Pokuševski and Nikola Jović from Serbia; Jusuf Nurkić from Bosnia and Herzegovina; Dario Šarić, Ivica Zubac and Bojan Bogdanović from Croatia; Cedi Osman from Macedonia; Luka Dončić, Goran Dragić and Vlatko Cančar from Slovenia; and Vučević from Montenegro.
“It’s a huge achievement for us,” Vučević said. “It’s not easy to come from Europe and get a chance in the NBA. Obviously the NBA has been much more open to bringing guys from everywhere, but it’s just not as easy because most of the scouting and everything done is here in the U.S. during college.
“Once you get here it’s a huge opportunity. You’re as happy for someone else (from Europe) to succeed and play at a high level.”
Vučević said there are several reasons for this success. The Yugoslav region is known for its natural height advantage, which helps fuel strong national programs in basketball and volleyball.
But more important, Vučević said, is the rich history of basketball in all of the countries. Children grow up with a hero worship for their national teams, watching EuroBasket with a similar intensity to the World Cup.
This culture only grows with each wave of new players breaking into the NBA.
“It’s in our blood,” Vučević said. “It’s in our genes.”
Jokić stands as the premier representative of the region — a generational talent on course to win a third straight MVP award — yet his standing has come into question in recent weeks.
ESPN analyst and former NBA center Kendrick Perkins stoked heated debates on TV and social media when he accused Jokić of “stat padding” and said MVP voters are biased toward white players.
Vučević shrugged off any doubting of Jokić as media patter.
“You take him out of that team, it’s not even close to the same team,” Vučević said. “He’s done his part more than he needs to do it. I think he deserves to get another (MVP). The way he’s playing, it’s not even a question.”
