Maybe he’s getting sappy in his old age, or maybe he’s just accepting reality, but with every passing matchup between the Lakers and Nuggets in recent years, LeBron James seems to offer more and more praise for Nikola Jokic. It feels like many around the NBA, and even his peers on the court, were slow to fully embrace Jokic as an all-time great, which he clearly is.
But LeBron has drastically changed that narrative in recent years, and he made a grand display of it on Tuesday night. During a timeout for a coach’s challenge, James went over to the Denver bench and hugged Jokic while exchanging some animated words. After the game, he was asked about the oddly timed and very visible interaction and had nothing but love for the Joker.
“It’s the utmost respect. For the greats of the game, for the greats of today, for the greats of the past, for the greats to come after… Jokic is one of the greatest players to ever play this game. For me to see him and go over and pay my respect, that’s easy.”
The sentiment is great, and even if the moment felt a bit over the top and manufactured by LeBron, it’s still nice to see Jokic being properly respected by legends. James is the standard for the last 25 years of the NBA, and even at age 41, he’s the star of all stars.
Jokic earning respect as all-time great
Whenever he finally does leave this game, he’ll be leaving it in good hands, and he clearly realizes that some of those biggest hands to take over for him belong to Jokic. Whether it was his awkward European look and build, his stoic demeanor, his goofy appearance, unconventional style, or whatever else, it has always felt like there was some bizarre pushback against accepting Jokic into the inner circle; the pantheon.
But those days are over, and the inevitable has become undeniable. Jokic has the three MVP awards, he has the Finals MVP, he has the five All-NBA appearances, but what’s more, he now has the respect.
The haters are gone, and now the only debate is how high Jokic can truly climb. He may never reach the heights of James, who has a strong case as the greatest player to ever play the game. But honestly, he’s not far behind. He’s just 30 years old, and so far this season, Joic has been as good as ever.
Nobody wants to predict the future, but if the Joker is able to keep this up for a few more years, rack up even more accolades, and add another championship ring or two to his trophy vault, nothing’s off the table.