Photo Credit: Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets Head Coach Mike Malone Says Nikola Jokic Is An All-Defensive Member Based On Stats

Nikola Jokic has raised questions regarding his ability to play on the defensive end of the court since joining the NBA. While Jokic has quietly improved in recent years, many observers around the association still view the Denver Nuggets big man as a liability on that end.

Jokic has a couple of flaws, especially when it comes to his rim protection, and there seems to be no denying that. On a positive note however, Jokic plays good positional defense and is a stellar defensive rebounder. He’s also excellent at reading the passing lanes and has very quick hands to disrupt the offense – as evidenced by his 1.3 steals per game and 2.5 deflections per game as a center.

With Jokic still having a negative reputation on defense, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone suggested that Jokic is no longer that poor defender that everyone once knew, now calling him a very effective defensive player in the NBA.

Per Denver Post:

“The thing that jumps out to me, and I’m gonna say this, and people not in Denver, but people around the NBA will scoff at it, he’s a very effective defensive player,” Malone said. “You can’t say he’s not. All the other analytics they use for other players, when you apply those same analytics to Nikola Jokic, he should be an All-Defensive player.”