Even when people are overlooking him, Nikola Jokic keeps demonstrating why he’s one of the best players in the NBA. The reigning back-to-back NBA MVP winner has put up a show this season, taking his Denver Nuggets to compete for the top spots of the Western Conference.
He put up another masterpiece on Sunday night in the final game of the NBA’s 2022 Christmas Day calendar. In a hard-fought matchup against the Phoenix Suns, the Joker went off once again and dominated the Suns to get a huge win.
Following this performance, everybody was in awe of the Serbian player, including Bill Simmons, who had big praise for Nikola. The big man is having another MVP-caliber season, and people are starting to notice that he could have a serious case for the MVP again.
Bill Simmons Places Nikola Jokic Above Larry Bird Speaking On Offensive Talents
Bill Simmons is not somebody that can easily praise NBA players, but Jokic has earned his stripes and a lot of respect due to his performances. That’s why the controversial analyst had nothing but good things to say about him recently, even comparing him to one of the greatest Boston Celtics of all time. Harrison Wind caught the moment when Simmons says Jokic may be better than the iconic Larry Bird.
“This guy’s actually probably better than Bird offensively.” pic.twitter.com/1VmMp4oG4N
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) December 28, 2022
“There’s something different when somebody has freak vision, freak everything. And Jokic has it. And, watching Sunday night it was the first time I was like, ‘this guy’s actually probably better than Bird offensively,'” Simmons said on the most recent edition of his podcast.
This is huge praise for sure, but more so coming from Simmons, who is a huge Boston sports fan. The analyst can be tough on some players sometimes, but he knows where quality is.
For his career, Jokic is averaging 20.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game, shooting 54.7% from the field and 82.8% from the free-throw line. Larry Bird, on the other hand, averaged 24.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 897 games, shooting 49.6% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc, and 88.6% from the free-throw line.
For their career highs, Jokic scored 50 points against the Sacramento Kings in 2021, while Larry dropped 60 on the Atlanta Hawks back in 1985. Nikola’s career-high rebounds are 27, while Bird caught 20 rebounds three times during his career. When it comes to assists, Jokic has recorded 18, beating Larry, who recorded 17.
Jokic is having a terrific season on the Nuggets, taking them to fight for the top spot in the West, tied with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Joker is doing a great job and is aiming for the biggest prize this campaign. Curiously, he could emulate Larry Bird and become the newest member of the 3 consecutive MVP awards club.
Larry was the last player to win this prize three times in a row, and Jokic’s performances this season can give him the third consecutive MVP trophy.
Stats courtesy of RealGM and Basketball-Reference.
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