A second-round pick of the Denver Nuggets back in 2014, Nikola Jokic was primarily selected as a draft and stash. Maybe he would remain in Serbia for a few years before making his way to the states.
It took one year and a solid summer league performance for this to come to fruition. The big man signed with Denver during the summer of 2015, ultimately averaging 10 points and seven boards as a rookie.
More figured Jokic had untapped potential. But at just 21 years old and with 55 career starts under his felt, it wasn't common logic to believe it would happen this soon.
Much to the delight of those who decided to roster Jokic heading into the 2016-17 season, he's been among the most-surprising players in the Association.
Coming off a 23-points, 11-rebounds, six-assist performance against the Utah Jazz, Jokic has more than made his presence known. He's recorded 16 double-double performances over the past 24 games and is averaging over 15 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season.
More than that, recency bias tells us a story of a young center that's more than ready to take that next step. Over the course of the past 13 games, Jokic is averaging 23.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Those are elite-level numbers right there.
Jokic plays a position that remains at a premium in today's NBA world. There's less than a handful of truly elite fantasy centers in the NBA. That lists includes the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Marc Gasol, Andre Drummond and potentially Hassan Whiteside. If Jokic is able to keep up at this current rate, he will surely join that list.