NBA Game Reviews: February 6, 2021

1. Led by Nikola Jokic, the NBA’s best Bigs are as versatile as the league has ever seen

In the new age of the NBA, plenty of things have evolved and changed just in the last decade. It’s mostly resulted in better offenses with NBA scoring at the highest marks in history and 3-point records being broken on a seemingly nightly basis. One contributing factor to that has been the rise of the versatile big man.

All across the league, NBA Centers and Power Forwards are regularly standing outside the perimeter draining deep shots. This used to be an extremely rare trait for a 6’10” player or taller to be capable of and why Dirk Nowitzki’s career was so unique. In 2021, there’s a plethora of Nowitzki-type Big Men who are not only extremely effective in the paint, but now also pose a threat from outside. This is great for spacing the floor, removing the defensive rim protector from the interior as he’s now forced to respect the jump shot, which gives the offense’s ball handlers much more room to make plays.

Nikola Jokic is asserting himself as the league’s best Big Man with a MVP-caliber season that has him putting up 27 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 8.5 APG. He’s also doing this on an efficient 57% FG/39% 3P/84% FT. Jokic is already solidifying himself as the greatest passer and triple-double threat of any Big Man ever, and his outside offensive game really takes it to the next level. He along with Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Vucevic, and countless others have unique versatility that has truly changed the game. 

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