Nikola Jokic is putting his best foot forward in a new pair of shoes.

The “Joker 1” was released by 361 Degrees in early December. Jokic has played exclusively in his first signature shoe to start his 10th NBA season, and the results are better than ever.

The three-time Most Valuable Player is on pace to set new career highs in points per game (30.9), 3-point percentage (51.4), steals per game (1.7) and minutes per game (37.1), while his rebounds (12.5), assists (9.7) and blocks (.7) per-game numbers aren’t far off his previous bests. Maybe it’s the shoes.

“They’re really good. They’re so comfortable. I just love how they feel on my feet,” Jokic said after dropping 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting, including a 4-for-6 mark on 3-pointers, in Monday’s win over the Suns. “When we were starting conversation when I started with 361, that was probably the biggest key for me. We are playing so much games, and we practice. So, comfortability was the No. 1 thing for me.”

Jokic said he didn’t have a ton of input on the design, but they still pay homage to his roots. The outsole, or bottom of the shoe, combines traditional Serbian designs with functional traction. That kind of detail is what attracted Nuggets teammate Aaron Gordon to the brand that’s released five of his signature shoes.

“The creative direction that they were going in and the collaboration. They were really, really intrigued, interested and hungry to know what we liked and to apply it to the shoe,” Gordon told The Denver Gazette in the locker room while surrounded by a pile of his own kicks.

“From top to bottom, from bottom to top, they let you choose what you like, what you prefer, what you want to build out. They go through your whole background, your whole upbringing and they really tie together a shoe that embodies who you are.”

The Joker 1 comes in five colorways that were on display at a release party at Ball Arena on Dec. 2. All are priced at $129 and available via the 361 online store. The “Ace,” a standard black-and-white option, is the only one currently available for purchase. The “Joker” model is purple and green, a nod to the Batman character’s colorful suits, and is set to go on sale Jan. 1.

The “Denver” version features the light blue and yellow of the Nuggets’ uniforms during Jokic’s early days with the franchise, and the “Triple Red” that lives up to its name and “conveys wishes for prosperity, harmony, and good fortune in the coming year,” according to the brand’s website, will be available soon.

“They’re hard,” Gordon said of Jokic’s first signature shoes. “It’s so, so tough.”

Jokic played Monday’s game against Phoenix in the “Champagne” colorway that evokes memories of the 2023 Finals Most Valuable Player spraying bottles of bubbly during Denver’s championship celebration. Suns center Jusuf Nurkic put the shoe to the test in the first half on Thursday’s game. Some textbook Jokic footwork got Phoenix’s 7-foot, 291-pound big man off balance. When Jokic went into his move, Nurkic’s foot was planted firmly atop the sneaker. Jokic ended up on the court, grabbing his ankle, but the shoe passed the test.

“I kind of tried to do a spin move, and he stepped on my foot,” Jokic said. “I kind of pulled my leg out, and I couldn’t jump. It just felt a little bit uncomfortable, but everything is ok.”

Jokic was previously a Nike athlete but never got a signature shoe from the swoosh despite his decorated career. He signed with 361 a year ago and started wearing the brand’s “BIG3” line until his signature shoe was ready. It took a little longer than originally planned, potentially too late to find them under many Christmas trees in America, but there’s plenty of time for Serbian Orthodox Christmas, which Jokic celebrates on Jan. 7.

“We needed a little bit more time to kind of get to this point about how they feel,” Jokic said. “They’re feeling really good now.”