In truth, Nikola Jokic was the easy part.
Denver’s all-world center composed a historic season by most measures, despite the absence of the Nuggets’ second-best player for weeks, a rotating cast of starters around him, in a season more taxing than anything he’d ever experienced.
His crafty dominance never ceased. Jokic set career-highs in points (26.4), rebounds (10.9), assists (8.4), and minutes played (34.8). He flirted with a career-best shooting percentage from the 3-point line (39%). He confounded defenses with his shooting, then made them pay for overhelping. Entering Sunday’s season finale, Jokic had logged the second-most minutes in the entire NBA.