“It is a system that gives unbelievable …

“It is a system that gives unbelievable results,” says Ognjen Stojakovic, a native of Belgrade and the Nuggets’ director of player development. Stojakovic arrived in Denver as a video coordinator in 2012, two years before Jokic was drafted. He describes an approach, adhered to with religious zeal in a nation of 8.7 million, in which players under the age of 16 follow a strict protocol, regardless of size. “At that age, they don’t have positions,” Stojakovic says. “They need to know how to play face to the basket, side to the basket, back to the basket. You teach them technique and also tactic, which means you need to understand when to use different kinds of moves.”