Serbian basketball star Nikola Jokic has been voted the player with the highest basketball IQ in the NBA, receiving 67% of the votes in the league’s annual general managers’ survey.
The Denver Nuggets center topped the category for the second consecutive year, according to the 25th edition of the NBA survey, which asked general managers 48 questions about players, teams, coaches and the upcoming season.
Only two players received votes in the basketball IQ category. Jokic finished first with 67%, followed by LeBron James with 33%.Last year, Jokic dominated the same category with 80% of the votes.
Jokic Also Leads NBA’s Best Passer Rankings
The three-time NBA Most Valuable Player also received overwhelming support in the voting for the league’s best passer.
Jokic secured 87% of the votes, ahead of Slovenian star Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, who received 7%.
Tyrese Haliburton and LeBron James also received votes in the category.
Jokic improved on last year’s result, when he received 80% of the votes for best passer.
The Serbian international was also selected as the NBA’s best center, receiving 63% of the votes compared with 37% for Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Wembanyama Leads MVP and International Player Voting
Despite Jokic’s strong showing, Wembanyama finished ahead of the Serbian center in two other categories.
The French star received 53% of the votes for the league’s best international player, while Jokic collected 47%.
Wembanyama also led the general managers’ predictions for the upcoming season’s MVP award with 77% of the votes, compared with 10% for Jokic.
The results reflect the expectations of NBA executives ahead of the new season rather than official league awards.
Under the survey rules, general managers were not permitted to vote for players or coaching staff members from their own teams.
