Nikola Jokic is widely regarded as the best player in the NBA today, and few would have seen this coming after he was drafted with the 41st pick in 2014. Former NBA player Mike Miller, a teammate of Jokic’s in his first two seasons, claims to be one of them, as he stated on Pardon My Take that he knew the Serbian would be special when he was a rookie.
“I’ll give you a funny little story,” Miller said. “I get traded from Cleveland to Portland. I do a buyout from Portland, and I go to the Nuggets. I’m three days late for camp, so I get there and I’m sitting at the practice. I don’t practice that day.
“Coach [Mike] Malone and the Kroenke family, at the end of practice, they asked me, ‘So, what do you think?'” Miller continued. “I said, ‘I don’t know who that fat, ugly kid is over there, but he’s your best player and it’s not even close.'”
Co-host PFT Commenter then asked Miller what he saw in Jokic that others did not.
“At that time, he had flaws,” Miller stated. “Like his body wasn’t great. If you look at his old combine stuff or Hoop Summit stuff, it’s like I don’t jump high. But I’ve never seen a young kid like the ball hit his hands like the Matrix. S*** just stops, and the game is slow for him.
“For all the young kids, the game’s super fast and out of control, and that’s why they make so many mistakes and why veteran coaches don’t play them,” Miller added. “But the ball hit his hands, and everyone got better.”
Jokic certainly makes everyone around him better, and Miller recognized that right away. He saw the potential in him when so many didn’t.
Now, you might think this is just another instance of a former player making absurd claims, but that’s not the case. All the way back in November 2016, Miller stated during an appearance on The Ringer NBA Show that Jokic had the best chance to be great among all the young players the Denver Nuggets had.
“I think there’s a multiple guys,” Miller said. “I think when you have a lot of young talent, there are guys that are really, really good, and it’s hard to pick those guys, but if I had my money on someone right now, it’s Nikola Jokic. I call him Joker. I see a lot of the Gasol brothers in him.”
Miller stated that Jokic can control and dominate a game like Marc Gasol and was very high on him. Host Chris Vernon then pointed out that he was comparing this kid to All-NBA First Team caliber players like the Gasol brothers. Vernon wondered if Miller actually thought Jokic had that kind of potential.
“I do, I think he has that ability,” Miller stated.
Well, Jokic has surpassed the Gasol brothers by now. The 30-year-old has won a title, a Finals MVP, and three MVPs in his career. Jokic has made the All-NBA First Team on four occasions, while the Gasol brothers only made it in once in their careers. He will be getting in for the fifth time this year, too.
Jokic hopes to win his second NBA championship this year, and he and the Nuggets will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 in the Western Conference Semifinals at Paycom Center on Sunday.
