Nikola Jokic's summer competitions and their impact on the NBA season | NBA Insider

Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets:

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The world’s most valuable player is coming off an offseason that’s included international competition for the third time in the last six years.

Here’s a look at how the summer competitions in 2019 and 2022 impacted Nikola Jokic’s playing time and production the following season.

2019

After playing 80 regular-season games in the 2018-19 season and 14 more in his first playoffs, Jokic played in eight games for Serbia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. He helped his country beat the United States and finish fifth in the tournament. The following NBA season was disrupted by the pandemic, but Jokic still managed to play in all 73 of Denver’s regular-season games, playing 32 minutes per game. He finished ninth in the Most Valuable Player vote after averaging 19.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and seven assists. In the postseason, Jokic led the Nuggets to consecutive comebacks from 3-1 deficits against the Jazz and Clippers to reach the conference finals for the first time in his career. He played 36.5 minutes per game in 19 playoff games and posted averages of 24.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

The months off in the middle of the season probably helped, but there was nothing atypical about his production.

2022

Following a few summers away from the Serbian national team, Jokic returned to international competition by playing in World Cup qualifiers after the Nuggets 2021-22 season. Denver’s season ended with a first-round playoff exit, losing to Golden State in five games. Then, Jokic helped Serbia qualify for the next summer’s World Cup across six games.

A stint in the league’s health and safety protocols, minor injuries and some rest limited Jokic to 69 games the following regular season. He played 33.7 minutes per game, a slight increase from the 2021-22 season, and helped the Nuggets finish atop the Western Conference. He led the Nuggets to their first championship by playing 39.5 minutes per night in Denver’s 20 playoff games. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the playoffs and went on to earn Finals MVP.

After the championship run, Jokic elected not to play in the World Cup.

2024

It’s too early to say how many games or how many minutes Jokic will play in the upcoming NBA season. But he didn’t look any worse for wear in the Olympics after playing 79 regular season games and matching his career high of 34.6 minutes per game. Then, he played 40.2 minutes per game across Denver’s 12 playoff games.

In Paris, Jokic led Serbia to the bronze medal and posted the fifth triple-double in Olympic history. He’ll be back in Denver later this week to begin preparations for his 10th NBA season.

What I’m Thinking

It doesn’t feel like Joel Embiid’s contract extension was met with the same skepticism that Jamal Murray’s new deal received.

That doesn’t make much sense.

For all the concern about offering Murray a four-year extension worth a little more than $50 million per year, there didn’t seem to be the same energy around Embiid’s three-year extension worth $193 million.

Embiid is the more impactful player and certainly worth the contract when healthy. But his injury history is more concerning than Murray’s. Embiid underwent a couple of surgeries to repair broken bones in his feet before he played his first NBA game. Big men with bad feet are a notorious combination in NBA history. Embiid has also dealt with meniscus issues over the course of his career.

Murray’s major injury was a torn anterior cruciate ligament that cost him back-to-back playoff runs, but since then it’s been a series of less concerning injuries.

Embiid has not played more than 68 games in a season and played just 39 last season. Murray has played in fewer than 50 games once, the year he suffered the season-ending knee injury.

The reality of the situation is players of Embiid's and Murray’s caliber are so hard to come by that it’s worth whatever risk comes along with signing them to max contract extensions.

What I’m Following

- The Nuggets had four players in CBS Sports’ Top 100 players. Jokic came in at No. 1 followed by Jamal Murray (34), Aaron Gordon (63) and Michael Porter Jr. (68).

- Denver celebrated their Most Valuable Players with massive posters featuring Nikola Jokic and Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon on the west side of Ball Arena.

- Michael Porter Jr., Peyton Watson and Russell Westbrook made the most of their Kroenke Sports and Entertainment connections. The Nuggets’ trio attended Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. Porter and Watson posed for a photo with LeBron James, while Stan and Josh Kroenke, owners of the Rams and Nuggets, were also on hand for the Rams’ improbable comeback.

- In an unusual turn of events, the Rockets and AJ Griffin, a former first round pick, agreed to a buyout. The 21-year-old is reportedly contemplating his future in basketball. The White Plains, New York native played one season of college basketball at Duke and spent his first two professional seasons in Atlanta before being traded to Houston.

- Derrick Rose is looking for a new team. The Grizzlies are planning to waive the former MVP, according to a report from The Athletic.

- Vince Carter is joining the list of players to have his number retired by multiple franchises. His No. 15 will be the first number retired by Toronto, and Brooklyn will also hang his jersey from the rafters this season, a celebration of his induction to the basketball hall of fame.

What I’m Reading

ESPN’s staff of NBA insiders analyzed a dozen players who are coming back from injury and what it means for their respective teams in a recent piece. For all the consternation surrounding Jamal Murray’s health, he’s not one of the players mentioned. Meanwhile, the Knicks and Grizzlies have multiple players listed.

The List

Here are our top three players coming off injury who will have the biggest impact on their team’s outcome next season:

1. Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics

The Latvian big man admirably played through injury to help the Celtics win the championship. But that decision delayed surgery on his left leg. He is expected to miss a significant stretch to start the season. Boston’s best bet to repeat includes sacrificing some regular-season wins if it means Porzingis is good to go for the postseason.

2. Ja Morant, Grizzlies

The last time Morant was healthy for a majority of a season, Memphis finished second to the Nuggets in the Western Conference with 51 wins. Without one of the game’s most exciting players for most of last season, the Grizzlies totaled 27 wins. Memphis used last season’s dip to draft 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, a lob threat for Morant, with the 12th pick.

3. Julius Randle, Knicks

For all the talk about the Villanova Wildcats on the roster, the Kentucky Wildcat could be the key to the Knicks’ success. New York is going to need some interior toughness with Isaiah Hartenstein now in Oklahoma City and Mitchell Robinson’s health a frequent concern. That looks like it’s going to be Randle’s responsibility on a squad hoping for a historic season.