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By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic is out for at least one more week, with the Denver Nuggets looking to get him healthy toward the bottom end of the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season and the ensuing Playoffs 2026, but his injury status does not stop his teammates, namely Jonas Valanciunas and Cam Johnson, from raving on his skills.
The 33-year-old Lithuanian center was the guest on the most recent installment of ‘The Old Man and the Three’, with 29-year-old Johnson submitting questions as a host.
The discussion started from basketball in Lithuania, moving from Lietuvos Rytas to the NBA, and naturally also went into the Joker.
“You can see by him playing that he has a talent, but that was just raw talent. He was still getting better, finding his way, and establishing his identity, what kind of big he’s going to be. Year-by-year, it didn’t take him too long. There you go, he’s what he is,” reflected Valanciunas, referring to getting to know Jokic in the NBA.
“We have that on the bench all the time. Sometimes it’s just, ‘How?’ Stuff comes up from nowhere. It looks like just pass it out and go set a screen, and he creates the situations for, especially like you, shooter standing in the corner,” he added to his conversation with Johnson, focusing on currently playing alongside the Serbian superstar. “It’s his basketball IQ.”
Valanciunas also shared his view on the differences between FIBA basketball and the NBA, including a comment on whether scoring is easier in the league based in North America.
“Is it easier to score, or do you generate more points? You play a longer game here in the NBA. Play 48, in Europe you play 40. In Europe, if you score 15 points, you’re like, ‘OK. That’s a solid game’. Here, 15 points are like average points. Fifteen is good, but 25, that’s the number,” he said. “It’s just a different game.”
Over 35 appearances since taking his talents to Denver during the offseason, after previously considering an offer from Panathinaikos Aktor, Valanciunas has averaged 8.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 blocks, and 0.2 steals per contest.
Falling to 31-16 at the top of a four-game stand on Tuesday, the Nuggets resume action against the Brooklyn Nets in Ball Arena on Thursday.
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