Former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl has seen many great players in action in the NBA over the years and he thinks Nikola Jokic might be the best of the lot.
“I’ve been around hoops for 50 years and I’ve seen a lot of incredible players, including Connie, Julius, Michael, Tim, Shaq, KAJ, Kobe, and LBJ,” Karl stated. “But, at this point, I’m thinking Jokic may be the best player I’ve ever seen play basketball.”
Karl, who coached in the NBA for over 25 seasons, made that statement following Jokic’s exceptional showing against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1. The 29-year-old recorded 32 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals to lead the Nuggets to a 114-103 win.
It was just yet another incredible performance in the postseason from Jokic and he continues to show why he is widely regarded as the best player in the NBA right now. As for whether he might be the best ever, I wouldn’t go that far just yet.
While I haven’t seen a lot of the greats in action like the 72-year-old Karl has, I think it is a bit too soon to have Jokic in the conversation for best player we have ever seen. Sure, what he has done so far is very impressive, as Jokic has won a title, a Finals MVP, and two MVPs, but his resume still does not compare to that of Michael Jordan or LeBron James.
Jordan won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, and 10 scoring titles. LeBron, meanwhile, has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. Unless Jokic comes close to achieving what they did, he’ll never really be regarded as a better player than them.
I think the players whom Jokic is chasing and could surpass with another title this season would be the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone. If he then follows it up with a couple more championships and excellent playoff runs, then we might need to have a serious conversation about whether he is the greatest ever.
James Worthy Believes Nikola Jokic Is A Mix Of Magic Johnson And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Karl wasn’t the only one to have some very high praise for Jokic following that performance against the Lakers. James Worthy was asked about Jokic’s game and he believes the six-time All-Star is a mix of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“To me, he is Magic and Kareem on the floor at the same time,” Worthy said. “He’s a guard, he makes great decisions, hell of a passer. And then when he wants to be Kareem he goes out and dominates. He’s a special player that does a lot of things and your antennas have to be up.”
(starts at 8:26 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ZmN0Msf70
Worthy played alongside Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar on the Lakers, so that’s quite something coming from him. I suppose it is a fair description of Jokic. He can dominate games both as a playmaker and as a scorer. If you double-team him. he’s going to rip your defense apart with his playmaking but if you let him play 1-on-1, he scores at a ridiculous rate as well.
The Lakers, though, have to find a way to limit his impact if they are to win this first-round series. At this point, it doesn’t look like they’ll find a solution to the Jokic problem, however.
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