He Was The Most FRIGHTENING Player In The NBA...

From 2011 to 2015 Nikola Pekovic was the most frightening player in the NBA. Brandon Knight kept bumping into Pekovic looking like an angry mosquito, just to be slapped against the floor the next second. In his heyday, the Pacman was clearing entire benches like he’s Shaq. And by the end of his short career, he mostly sat behind the bench looking and acting like he’s the team owner. But real NBA fans know that Pekovic had a killer post game. Nikola entered the league as a 25 year old in 2010, looking nothing like a rookie, as he was already a proven player in Europe. And after playing just 13 minutes per game in his first NBA season, Pekovic was ready for a breakout the following year. Nikola put Tim freaking Duncan into a spincycle before laying it in. TWICE! In his first start of the season, Pekovic absolutely balled out against the Spurs, posting a double double of 14 points and 11 rebounds in the narrow win at the end. A month later against the Rockets he was ready to put the entire league on a notice. Pek opens the game on a perfect 8 for 8 from the field, racking up 19 points at the half. And coming out of the locker rooms, he continued bulldozing through the defense. The Pacman exploded for a career high 30 points on 65% efficiency to go along with 12 boards in the win over Houston. From 5.5 points per game in his rookie campaign, Nikola bumped his averages to 14 points and 7 rebounds in 2011-12, quickly winning the hearts of Wolves fans. The next season the Timberwolves gathered around the original white boy band, better known as the Cream Team. Besides Pek in the frontcourt they had their superstar - Kevin Love. The Russian connection - Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved. The flashy Spaniard - Ricky Rubio. The legendary 6th man JJ Barea. And the fair-haired duo of Luke Ridnour and Chase Budinger. Unfortunately, Love fractured his right hand and played in only 18 games, causing another losing season for Minnesota. But for Pekovic, it meant more minutes and a chance to improve his statline a lot. Against the Hornets with rookie Anthony Davis, Nikola posted a new career high of 31 points on a blistering 14 of 18 shooting from the field. All of them in the painted area ofcourse. As a matter of fact, Pekovic hasn't tried a single 3 pointer in his entire career. Heck, according to shooting data, 95% of his total points came from inside 10 feet. Talk about sticking to your strong side. 2 weeks later against the Suns, the Godfather as they started calling him in Minnesota, dominated again. Nikola messed around and got 28 points and 11 boards on 65% efficiency in the tight win over the Suns at home. Then against Al Horford and the Hawks in early January without Kevin Love on the floor, Pekovic played like an All-Star. Not Horford, not Josh Smith, no one could stop the behemoth from Montenegro. And look at Big Al bouncing away from Pekovic who’s just standing there with his arms up. That's raw power. He crushed Atlanta with 25 points and 18 rebounds on 60% efficiency, securing the win for his team. And the Balkan Buldozzer replicated a very similar statline against the Sixers as well. Pek was in his usual groove, terminating the defense in the paint time and time again. Putbacks, hook-shots, and-1’s you name it. Nikola was doing it all. And this time he counted up to 27 points and 18 boards on 56% from the field. He was putting up All-Star numbers left and right all season long. So, from 14 and 7 the previous year, the Godfather went up to 16.5 points and 9 boards per game on 52% efficiency as the Wolves main scoring option. And he kept upgrading his game more and more in the following season as well. Albeit in an overtime loss against the Clippers, Pekovic posted a new career high of 34 points. However, he didn’t have trouble handling their city rivals. In a blowout win over the Lakers, Nikola scored 26 points on a near perfect 9 of 10 shooting. And against the Blazers led by Lamarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard, he put up a 30 point masterpiece. This was the best version of Pek, as he finished the 2013-14 season averaging a career high 17.5 points and almost 9 boards per game on a rock solid 54% efficiency. Unfortunately, he started declining fast after that, due to chronic issues with his ankles and achilles tendon. So, after multiple surgeries and a lot of pain, Pekovic decided to call it a career in 2016 after only 6 years in the league. No matter if we only got 2 seasons of prime Pacman, it was majestic.And here he is just 2 years ago, looking like he got straight out of a mob-movie. On the contrary, Kosta Koufos was looking totally harmless. But just for one night in 2013, he unlocked god mode against the Suns. I made a detailed breakdown about his journey right here in this video. So check it out and talk to you in the next one, peace out.