Nikola Jokic is an NBA champion at last and is deservedly being showered with praise from all corners. He was simply outstanding in the NBA Finals, with averages of 30.2 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 7.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, and 1.4 BPG as he walked with Finals MVP honors.
Shaquille O’Neal seems to have Jokic as one of the top eight big men of all time now and NBA analyst Chris Broussard went a step further, calling him a top 20 player of all time.
“I think he’s already top 20,” Broussard said on First Things First. “I got him ahead of (Charles) Barkley, Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett, Dirk (Nowitzki), David Robinson. He’s got more MVPs than all those guys except Malone and, of course, Karl Malone doesn’t have a ring. He’s gone ahead of Chris Paul.”
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Broussard is being consistent here, as he had previously stated that Jokic would rank ahead of Charles Barkley, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki with a title. He even went on to say that by the end of Jokic’s career, he’d rank above Kevin Durant.
You can certainly make a case that Jokic has surpassed the players that Broussard mentioned, as he does have quite an impressive resume now. Two MVPs, a title, and a Finals MVP aren’t something that a lot of players have managed to accomplish in NBA history. He may or may not have surpassed those legends, but unlike them, he has plenty of time to add even more accolades to his name.
As for where we rank Jokic, he isn’t a top-25 player just yet but is certainly knocking on the door.
Shams Charania Believes Nikola Jokic Is The Modern-Day Tim Duncan
Prior to the start of the 2022-23 season, Jokic had stated that he wanted to be the Tim Duncan of the Denver Nuggets. He said back then that he had to win a couple of championships for that, though and well, he has managed to win one.
Shams Charania now believes Jokic is the modern-day Duncan and thinks the Nuggets will be serious contenders for the next five years. It wouldn’t be fair to have Jokic on the same level as Duncan just yet, as he had led the San Antonio Spurs to five championships in his storied career. If the Serb wins a few more, though, then he could one day be deserving of being mentioned in the same breath as the Spurs icon.
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