As always, Nikola Jokic has been extraordinary this season. He’s once again averaging a triple-double with absurd efficiency, orchestrating the offense in ways no center has ever managed to—and that even modern heliocentric guards can’t truly replicate. Watching the Joker in his prime remains a privilege, one we should appreciate while we still can.
And yet, a troubling habit has started to develop this season. One that even his most devoted fans can’t ignore and that some announcers have openly acknowledged and criticized. The Serbian has started to engage a lot more in foul-baiting behavior this season. And no matter how many defenders come forward to call it smart basketball, it’s impossible to deny that it drains the joy out of games — and feels beneath him.
It’s especially jarring from a player whose refusal to resort to such tactics was one of the reasons that made him such a joy to watch for many years. What makes it worse is the uncomfortable reality that it works — and that’s grim news for any NBA fan.
Why Nikola Jokic is Less Fun to Watch This Season
There is a persistent narrative that Jokic is slighted by officials, especially when his whistle is measured against the free-throw volumes of his MVP rivals over the years, like Joel Embiid or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. His habit of complaining to officials fuels that perception. And like anyone who has played with Balkans knows, since they operate by their own very specific interpretation of the rulebook, the complaining rarely matches reality. The Serbian, particularly since cementing his MVP status, has been earning the benefit of the doubt on plenty of calls.
With all that being said however, for most of his career, Jokic avoided the dark art of foul-baiting — a choice that set him apart from peers like Embiid and SGA. Though to be fair, the NBA fandom at large tends to overstate both players’ reputations for it, particularly the latter.
This season, however, Jokic has changed that approach dramatically. He hunts contact now on a way more frequent basis, and makes sure to work the officials to get to the free-throw line more frequently. It’s hard not to trace that shift directly back to the Thunder series last season, where referees let the OKC defense physically punish him while not allowing that same level of physicality on the perimeter.
A Problem as Old as Basketball
None of this is new. The officiating discrepancy between guards and big men has always been part of the game. Under the rim, bigs wrestle for rebounds or fight to establish good post position. On the perimeter, meanwhile, guards are protected from such physicality and are able to get to the free-throw line even on drives where they initiate most of the contact.
The Thunder more than earned last year’s series victory, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander undeniably matched Jokic’s brilliance every step of the way. However, Oklahoma City’s defensive blueprint only succeeded because of this fundamental officiating discrepancy. They deployed Alex Caruso either to front Jokic and deny post entry passes, or as his primary defender with a big shading behind him, ready to help. That scheme worked because referees allowed Caruso to get away with a level of physicality against the three-time MVP they would never permit on the perimeter.
Add Isaiah Hartenstein to the equation—who has defends Jokic as well as anyone in the league thanks to his strength, length, toughness, and intelligence—and you get a near-perfect formula for slowing down one of the best offensive centers in the league’s history.
The Jokic Foul-Baiting Adjustment
There is a clear pattern with Jokic every time the Nuggets fall short of winning a title; he spends the offseason diagnosing exactly where things broke down and comes back drastically improved.
This assessment may clash with the tired narrative that he “doesn’t care” about basketball because he doesn’t spend his offseason posting about his workouts on social media. Yet the results speak for themselves.
When the Los Angeles Lakers bigs—Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, and Anthony Davis—rattled him with their size and physicality in the 2020 bubble, he responded by transforming himself into a more dominant, physically imposing offensive force and drastically improved his conditioning. That evolution fueled a championship run in 2023, including a Western Conference Finals sweep against LA in which he absolutely dominated AD.
When the Minnesota Timberwolves successfully rolled out their Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns twin-tower lineup to seal off the paint and push him toward his then-inconsistent three-point shot, he answered by returning the following season as one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the league.
Now, after both the Thunder and the Clippers found success deploying smaller defenders to front him or guard him directly — with a shot-blocker waiting behind — Jokic has found a new counter. Unfortunately, this one isn’t another remarkable addition to his offensive arsenal. Instead, he has turned to hunting contact, exaggerating it when necessary, and forcing the whistle. If foul-baiting is his latest solution — and if it proves effective — that’s a sobering development.
The NBA Foul Rules Need to Change
The result is a Jokic who faces less physical resistance than ever, pushing his efficiency even higher — but draining some of the joy in the process. To play devil’s advocate, this does create a more level playing field, holding him to a similar standard as perimeter players. But the frustration among fans and commentators speaks for itself.
The NBA should have acted sooner. With offensive talent exploding over the past decade, the league should simply adjust the rules to give defenses more weapons to deal with the incredible offensive quality we have across the association. To Adam Silver’s credit, he intervened once before to drastically improve the visibility of the product. The league previously awarded three free throws whenever an offensive player baited a reaching defender into a foul while being in a “shooting” motion—a tactic the Harden-Morey Rockets weaponized, which led to numerous three-shot trips to the free throw line. Eventually, those fouls were reclassified as common ones on the floor, significantly reducing the effectiveness of this tactic.
A similar adjustment may be overdue. Foul-seeking isn’t as egregious as it once was, but allowing defenders to apply more physicality against guards — closer to what bigs are aleary dealing with — would benefit everyone and also really help the watchability of the league overall.
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