Ahead of Thursday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Gregg Popovich took some time to shower heavy praise on Nikola Jokic.
Jokic, a 3x All-Star and the defending NBA MVP, apparently remains Pop a lot of Larry Bird.
“He’s too damn good. It’s not fair all the things he can do. It’s kind of Larry Bird-ish in a way.”
“He’s not going fast. He’s not jumping high. It’s kind of Larry Bird-ish…great hands, scores every which way. Involves all of his teammates.” “Probably the best passing big man we’ve seen in a very long time.”
"He's not going fast. He's not jumping high. It's kind of Larry Bird-ish…great hands, scores every which way. Involves all of his teammates."
"Probably the best passing big man we've seen in a very long time."
Coach Pop never passes up a chance to talk about Nikola Jokic.
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) December 9, 2021
This is hardly the first time Pop has heaved such heavy praise on The Joker. In fact, during San Antonio’s last matchup with the Nuggets, coach Popovich said very similar words about Jokic and Bird.
Jokic was just great. He was too much for us… He’s a real spectacular, interesting, different player. He’s like a 7ft Larry Bird type guy. The way he can pass, the way he can read things, it’s incredible.
After last season’s run, Jokic hasn’t got too much attention from the community. As Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James dominate the headlines, Jokic has been sent to the backburner.
Still, one could make the case that his performance this season is even better than last year’s. Through 19 games so far, Jokic is averaging 26.3 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game on a career-high 58% shooting.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets are sitting close to .500 this season and it’s the team’s underwhelming start that is really hurting Jokic’s chances at winning another MVP.
“They’re not winning,” said Kenny Smith. “Best record in the league, best players in the league get the rewards. It was the same way with him last year. They were the best team, he got the rewards. His season’s great but his team is not playing well and they haven’t hit their peak yet. Stay healthy, win games, and you get MVP awards. .”
Regardless of how things have fared this campaign, Jokic continues to be the steady hand for the Nuggets and his incredible ability to do it all on the floor is keeping them within striking distance amid all the injuries to the roster.
Jokic, 26, has proven himself to be a worthy franchise player and Gregg Popovich can’t stop talking about him.
