The debate has been raging about who the best basketball player in the world is, and Nikola Jokic has been the center of all of those conversations. He's been the de facto top player for years. And now, Celtics legend Robert Parish has put an even bigger title on the Joker. All-time great. No more sitting at the kids' table.
Parish made the statement on "Run It Back on FanDuel TV" during a conversation about legends of this generation's NBA. He said of the last generation of players that LeBron James and Kevin Durant were both worthy of all-time great status. But he said only one from this generation deserves that accolade: Nikola Jokic.
"Jokic. Yeah, they may have to bring out another seat for him. They might have to add a chair to the all-time great table," Parish said. "He's the only one of this generation, the young generation, that I think is almost certain to be an all-time great."
Heavy praise from an all-timer himself. Parish played for 21 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics, the Charlotte Hornets, and the Chicago Bulls. He is now second on the all-time NBA games played list behind LeBron James.
Jokic certainly has the right resume
Jokic's resume for all-time status certainly is littered with accolades that line up. Three MVPs, an NBA championship, an NBA Finals MVP, and he's easily going to become the all-time leader in triple-doubles next season, currently trailing Russell Westbrook by only 13.
And he's leading the NBA in assists and rebounds, at the same time. He'll be the first NBA player to do so in the same season. Jokic has 32 triple-doubles on the year, and he will finish the season with his second consecutive triple-double average. He's currently sporting 27.7 points per game, 13.0 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game on 64% shooting.
How great is Jokic?
Jokic is absolutely an all-time great. The question is, how great will he end up in the debate? He's already doing things Wilt Chamberlain did. Jokic passes like Magic Johnson and has a post-game like Hakeem Olajuwon.
Jokic has led the league in player efficiency for the past five seasons, is on pace for six this year, and is the all-time leader in efficiency with a 28.8 PER. He's also the all-time leader in four other major advanced metrics, including win share per 48 minutes. Nobody has meant more to their team while on the court than Jokic.
He absolutely deserves a spot at the adults' table, with the rest of the all-time greats. You can debate who should be number one, but there's no debate that Jokic belongs at the table.