Free agent forward Marcus Morris raised eyebrows during an appearance on First Take in April, where he claimed that Nikola Jokic isn’t a top-20 player of all time. Morris received some pushback for that take, but he has now doubled down on it during an appearance on The Kevin O’Connor Show.
“I’m doubling down and I’m not going to sit here and downgrade Jokic,” Morris said. “I believe that Jokic is a really good player. I believe that he’s a great player.”
Morris stated he would have Jokic in the top 30, but not 20. Host Kevin O’Connor wondered what the Denver Nuggets superstar had to do for Morris to elevate him further.
“The same game that he’s been playing is what I’ve been playing for the last 13 years,” Morris stated. “There is no big man, there is absolutely no big men in the league. For the last five years, there’s been no big men. If you go down the West and you look at the bigs that been in the league, there’s been none.
“He’s been playing against [Ivica] Zubac for the last five years of legit big men and Joel Embiid twice a season,” Morris continued. “… The landscape of basketball has changed. It’s small ball. When I was with the Clippers for four years, I was guarding Jokic. I’m a three-four man.
“Now, when you look at it around the league, who’s Jokic’s best defender?” Morris asked. “Can you name five centers in the league in the last five years? The last center he had to deal with that was in the league was f***ing Dwight Howard. Whose the last five centers that Jokic had to deal with on a night-to-night basis?”
Morris believes Jokic benefits from being the biggest player on the court in this era. He also pointed out that the Serb isn’t a great defender. Morris made it clear he wasn’t hating, but he just wants to pump the brakes a bit on the hype.
Marcus Morris Ripped Steve Kerr For Calling Nikola Jokic The Best Center He’s Seen
A couple of days after Morris initially made that claim regarding Jokic, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr showered the big man with praise. Kerr hailed Jokic as the best center he’s seen.
“He’s the best center I’ve ever seen,” Kerr said, via Vic Lombardi. “I played against Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]. I’m that old. And Kareem couldn’t do all this stuff. He’s absolutely one of the smartest players ever.”
Morris brought up these comments during the episode, and it’s safe to say he wasn’t a fan of them.
“He said he’s the best big man he’s ever seen, ever, and he’s seen Shaquille O’Neal,” Morris said. “Are you serious? You’ve seen all the great big men. Come on now and again, this has nothing to do with Jokic, but these guys were playing against bigs every night.”
Morris suggested Kerr had to be on edibles when he said that. Well, O’Neal did put Jokic above himself in the list of the top five centers, but you have to say he was being a bit too humble there.
Jokic still has to do more to surpass someone like O’Neal. He has won a title, a Finals MVP, and three MVPs so far in his career. That’s a great resume, but it’s not enough.
