The Utah Jazz took on the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, and prior to the contest, their head coach, Will Hardy, spoke on the comparisons between Nikola Jokic and Tim Duncan.
“I think first and foremost their demeanor, they both seem to sort of not buy into the hype, the glitz, and the glamor and all of the things that surround our business. They come, they play, they win, and they leave. That seems to be sort of how they go about their business.”
“On the court, I just think about their intelligence and the fact that neither of them seem to bobble the ball, they just have great ball skills, great hands. They seem to be in effortless control of the ball when they have it. I am sure there are a lot of other things if I thought about it and thought about X’s and O’s type stuff but those two probably stand out the most for me.”
Hardy had the privilege of coaching Duncan when he became an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs in 2015. He sees similarities not just in how intelligent they are but also in their demeanors.
Like Duncan, Jokic isn’t interested in being in the spotlight. All the glitz and the glamor that comes with being an NBA superstar isn’t something the six-time All-Star has ever cared about and won’t in the future either.
Jokic comes in to do his job, which is to help the Nuggets win games. Unfortunately for Hardy, it’s what he did against his Jazz as well. The 29-year-old had 26 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks as he helped the Nuggets come away with a 142-121 win. Jokic was a ridiculous 12-14 from the field and 2-2 from the free-throw line.
Tim Duncan’s Legendary Response To Those Who Say Nikola Jokic Would Destroy Him
To no one’s surprise, Duncan has basically disappeared from public view since he stepped down from his role as an assistant coach for the Spurs in 2020. We almost never hear from him but his former teammate Richard Jefferson did manage to get a hold of him recently. Jefferson revealed he told him Jokic would cook him and Duncan had an epic response.
“I was talking sh*t to Tim just recently,” said Richard Jefferson. “I was like, ‘Jokic would have whopped your a**.’ And this is the ultimate Tim Duncan response: he goes, ‘I played him after I was me and before he was him, and I did okay.’ If you know Tim, that’s the ultimate compliment to Jokic…”
The 2015-16 campaign was Jokic’s first in the NBA and Duncan’s last. The two faced off twice that season, with the Spurs winning the first matchup and the Nuggets the second. It is a shame we didn’t get to see these two face off at their best as it would have been a spectacle.
No one in today’s NBA seems to have an answer for Jokic, but Duncan might have been able to slow him down. He has gone down as one of the greatest defensive players ever and was the biggest reason why the Spurs won five championships between 1999 and 2014.
A few years ago, Jokic said he wanted to be the Duncan of the Nuggets, but added he had to win a couple of championships for that. Well, he did win it all in 2023, and the Nuggets are one of the favorites this season as well.
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