Picking the top five athletes in any sports league is challenging enough, but it’s especially so in the NBA, where stars are in abundance across the East and West. For Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic, who is hands-down the best basketball player in the world right now, the exercise wasn’t any easier for him after he was asked by his teammate Michael Porter Jr. Still, Jokic managed to list a few names before making the point about player rankings being a fool’s errand.
“I think I’m gonna say, Joel, Luka, you have to put KD and LeBron there. Even though they are a little bit older I think they can still perform. Steph… and then you have Tatum, [Anthony Edwards], Giannis… I think it’s really impossible to say. Maybe you like some other player more than some like his game but I think it’s really hard to put that top five or even top 10, to be honest.”
Jokic names his top 5 players in the league right now, includes Embiid, Luka, KD & Bron
If the best in the world says it, then it’s true 🤷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/KdN250YyYQ
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) December 28, 2023
Jokic makes a fair point here about player rankings. Besides guys like Jokic, Embiid, Luka, and Giannis, there is no unanimous agreement on which players deserve to be recognized as one of the 10 best stars in the league. The best way to really measure these players is by their performance in the postseason, which is why Jokic is seen as the greatest in the game right now as the reigning, defending NBA champion.
A New Era In The NBA
For the past 10+ years, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry have ruled the league with an iron fist and their dominance changed the very course of NBA history. For now, those three are still at the top of the food chain and their stats this season prove it. But there are plenty of new players on the rise and by this time next season, we could see a brand new cast of characters take over the top spots.
According to Jokic, young guys like Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Edwards are all next in line to inherit the crown and 2024 could be the year that they break out to move up the ladder. Regardless of who rises and falls, Jokic will be ready for battle against whoever stands in his way. For now, unless proven otherwise, the Joker is still the best in the world and the path to the Larry O’Brien trophy goes through his Nuggets this season.
Nikola Jokic Is No. 1
As the fans debate on which players are the best, everyone can agree that the title of “best in the world” belongs to Jokic right now. As a 2x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, and 5x All-NBA player, Jokic is making history as he leads the Nuggets to prosperity and nobody has an answer for his game. This season, through 31 games, he’s averaging 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 9.2 assists on 54.1% shooting.
After winning the championship in June, the Nuggets haven’t lost a step this season. At 22-10, they are 3rd in the West and on pace for another 50+ win season. At this point, the only question about the Nuggets is how many titles they can rack up before some other team takes them down. Right now, nobody looks like a real threat to Denver, and Jokic is sitting unchallenged as the best in the world.
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