Nikola Jokic is one of the NBA’s best big men, and he was the winner of the 2020-21 MVP award. It was certainly well-deserved. Nikola Jokic led the injury-ravaged Denver Nuggets to the third seed during the regular season, and he even managed to get to the second-round without co-star Jamal Murray. There’s no doubt that Nikola Jokic did some spectacular things to earn the award.
There is a video that was posted on Reddit, where a reporter reveals that Mike Malone’s comparison for Nikola Jokic was Tim Duncan. The reporter subsequently asked Jokic about Duncan’s influence on his game growing up. Jokic revealed that while he didn’t get inspired by Duncan growing up, he watched some clips of Duncan when he came over to the NBA to learn how Duncan played the game. The Nuggets center also added that the Spurs legend gave him “the easiest 20 points ever.”
Not growing up but coming here… I looked a little bit at his videos, and how he is playing the game. I mean I played him, and I always say he gave me the easiest 20 points ever. He did not fell me, for real. And he was kind of a little bit older, I think that was his last year. So, I mean I can just imagine him in his prime… I think he knew each and every moment what he’s gonna do on the floor, how he can manipulate the defense or whatever. He’s a good guy to look up for.
Nikola Jokic clearly recognizes the greatness of Tim Duncan, and it’s crazy to hear that he was able to give Jokic “the easiest 20 points” even in his last season. Perhaps Nikola Jokic could become an all-time big man like Tim Duncan in the future, and it would be quite an accomplishment if he were to be able to bring a championship to Denver.
