Introductory phase

 And now, America, say hello to a guy who looks like he walked out of a team photo from the 1950s, with that anti-funk buzz cut and pale, un-cut physique. He's Jimmy Chitwood with a growth spurt, is who he is. Listen close, and you can almost hear him say, "I'll make it."

He's also the most amazing basketball player you're likely to see, precisely because nothing he does looks especially amazing.

But out there in Denver last night Nikola Jokic passed and screened and rolled to the basket and squared up from the arc when the occasion called for it, and when he was done he, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets were up 1-0 in the NBA Finals. Jokic's contribution was straight basic Nikola: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists.

Murray, his sidekick, pitched in with 26 points, as the Miami Heat were no more successful in figuring them out than anyone else. In Jokic's case, that's because there's nothing particularly definable to latch onto.

Double him, and he'll find the open man, usually with a pass no one saw was there but him. Double Murray or someone else, and he'll lob in a 1950s not-quite-jumpshot from the three-point line. 

And then, just for variety, he and Murray will work the pick-and-roll in a way that probably makes John Stockton and Karl Malone all nostalgic.

Thing is, if you tuned in last night only because it was the NBA Finals, you were likely seeing all this for the first time, partly because Jokic plays in Denver and Denver is not exactly a major media center. Add to that the good chunk of America that thinks the NBA is white noise because its season goes on and on and on and on, and Jokic might be the most anonymous two-time NBA MVP in history.

All he does is put up 27, 10 and 14 night after night out there in the lee of the Rockies, while the America that pays only nominal attention to the NBA stays glued to the latest LeBron James/Lakers docudrama. The NBA is LeBron and Steph and KD and that goofy Kyrie Irving, to a lot of folks. Oh, yeah, and that Giannis guy with the last name they can't spell.

Jokic?

I can't quantify how less known he is, so I'll just settle for an anecdote.

The other day, see, I'm talking to my sister, who knows a bit about sports but doesn't really follow the NBA. I got to telling her about the NBA Finals and how America was finally going to get to know Nikola Jokic, and she responded the way I suspect more than a few others might.

"I've never heard of him," she said.

In that case, consider last night your introductory phase, sis.

Same goes for the rest of you.