Nikola Jokic put on one of the most dominant performances in NBA history last spring, as he led the Denver Nuggets to their first-ever NBA championship. The Serbian big man was nearly untouchable throughout the postseason, averaging 30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game while shooting 54.8% from the field and 46.1% from deep.
Jokic’s otherworldly playoff run cemented him amongst the league’s best. Now, the question becomes, when does he join some of the most-feared players in NBA history?
Mile-High Sports analyst SwipaCam gave an intriguing answer, during a recent appearance on The DNVR DNBA Show.
“The conversation around Joker becomes — for me this season — if Joker is able to go on another run, he’s able to start to put himself in that ‘inevitable’ conversation,” SwipaCam said. “Which is like your Jordan, which is Bird in the 80s, which is when you had LeBron in the 2010s, which is when you had — kind of Steph and Durant — but not really because they were a pairing. What I mean by inevitable is — you get into a playoff series with these dudes, you don’t feel confident that you can beat them.”
Can Nikola Jokić become “inevitable”?
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) September 7, 2023
Is he already there? @SwipaCam thinks that’s the next step in the conversation.
📺 https://t.co/8o6MQZwjUt pic.twitter.com/TtK8XSfruE
Comparing Jokic to some of the greats may seem a bit premature, but is certainly justifiable after what he did in the postseason. Not to mention that he’s already won two MVP awards and could’ve very well had a third last year.
Like SwipaCam said, if Jokic is able to power the Nuggets to another deep playoff run, it’ll be even tougher to argue against his status amongst some of the best players in league history.
Jerry West compares Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic to LeBron James
SwipaCam’s inevitable take isn’t the first time that the Nuggets center has been compared to the league’s best. In fact, he was compared to James just last month by Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West.
“He’s just amazing,” West said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. “He really is… He’s just one of those players that if you watch him play, he’ll score 10 points, and he’ll have 15 or 20 rebounds, 12 assists, but you have to watch him carefully around the basket and some of the shots that he makes… He’s got the greatest pair of hands of any inside player. He is like LeBron James. The brilliance of him as a player, but more importantly his mind, his mind makes everyone better. These things rub off on your teammates… These kind of players are rarities, and that’s why they’re so highly coveted.”