Nikola Jokic was selected with the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets coming out of Serbia. This is the part of the draft where selections are announced during commercial breaks.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya580NQehfE[/embedyt]Nikola Jokic’s Stats In Serbia
Jokic played overseas for KK Mega Basket, a founding member of the Adriatic Basketball Association. Remember their name; they’ll come up again later. Between his first two seasons, Jokic was primarily used as a reserve. He only appeared in 9 games, 5 as a starter in his first season, but still managed to average 7.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.
In his second season, Jokic’s role increased, but he was still coming off the bench for most of the season. In 7 starts for a total of 39 games played, he averaged 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. His 3P% was right around 32%, and his field goal percentage was a notch over 50%. Not bad at all.
In the 2014-2015 season, following the NBA draft, Jokic became the focal point of the team. He quickly took advantage. He averaged 16.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists for the season, with a 3P% of 33% and FG% of 53%. He was already doing things that the Jokic we see today does on a regular basis: in the first game of the season, he had 27 points and 15 boards in a big win.
In another win, he had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. He was eventually named the MVP of the Adriatic League, and after elimination in the semifinals of the Serbian League, left the team to come to the United States to play for Denver. The rest is history. Jokic quickly became one of the most versatile big men in the NBA, and quite possibly the greatest passing center of all time. In 2021, it was announced that he had won MVP for the 2020-2021 NBA season.
The Chicago Bulls Select A Different Serbian Basketball Player
In the 2020 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls selected Patrick Williams 4th overall. Rightfully so, the number four pick got most of the attention on draft night and the season going forward. But something else happened that night.
In the second round, quietly, while every Bulls fan in the world was looking up Williams highlights, Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and GM Marc Eversley selected a guy named Marko Simonovic with the 44th overall pick. No, not that Marko Simonovic, though we did have some fun arguing about it on Twitter for a few minutes.
Remember how I said to remember the team that Jokic played for? Well, you guessed it. Arturas Karnisovas was assistant GM of the Denver Nuggets when they selected Nikola Jokic and had helped him assimilate to the United States after coming over. Now in his new role with the Chicago Bulls, Arturas had dipped into the Serbian basketball well one more time.
Now, this isn’t to put MVP expectations or unrealistic pressure on Marko Simonovic. Nikola Jokic’s meteoric rise could not have been seen by anyone, at least anyone aside from Karnisovas. Karnisovas has been known for making excellent value draft selections (Jamal Murray, Monte Morris, Michael Porter Jr.). That said, there are many reasons to get excited for Simonovic. Simonovic, actually a native of Montenegro, started his career playing for a lower-league club in Italy. Eventually, he found his way to KK Mega Basket and immediately made an impact. In his first season for the team, he averaged 16.8 points, 8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.
His second season was a bit of a strange one considering the global pandemic we were facing, but despite the challenges, he still managed to average 15.2 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. He also improved his 3P% from 31% to 33%.
The Similarities Between Marko Simonovic and Nikola Jokic
Coming into the league, you can identify a lot of similarities in the way scouts talk about Marko Simonovic and the way they talked about Nikola Jokic just a few years ago. Both players have been described as great shooters with length and long wingspans. The term “threat” gets thrown around a lot, usually in the context of pick and rolls and shooting off the catch.
They were both known for crashing the boards, but while Simonovic uses his speed and craftiness to get put-backs and second-chance opportunities for his teammates, he does not quite have the post presence that Jokic did coming into the league. He will need to develop a face-up game if he truly wants to live down the Jokic comparisons.
Just as well, there is not much to write about in regards to Simonovic’s passing ability or physical presence. That’s not to say he won’t bulk up or use his already solid basketball IQ to improve as a passer, but there is much work to be done there.
Jokic did not come into the NBA as the dominant big man he is today. He made strides in being able to maintain position in the post without getting knocked around, and he refined his back to the basket moves with jump hooks and turnarounds.
Marko Simonovic, with the right tutelage under Billy Donovan and access to NBA training regimens, could become a very good player for the Chicago Bulls one day. As it stands right now, he’s more comparable to a player like Lauri Markkanen or Nikola Mirotic than he is to Nikola Jokic, but of course, things change quickly when you’re only 21 years old.
Bulls fans should be excited to see what he could bring to the team when he eventually does make the transition from Serbia to the National Basketball Association. Arturas Karnisovas had previously hinted that that could happen this offseason, but only time will tell. Whenever he does join the Bulls, he will have a plethora of experienced European veterans to learn from.