Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić has been on a tear this season. The 29-year-old had an exceptional regular season campaign and is the favorite to win the NBA MVP award, making him only the ninth player in NBA history to win the coveted prize three or more times. The Serbian center seamlessly elevated his level in the first round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 28.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists to push his team past the 17-time champions in five games.
Advertisement
Jokić’s resume has grown exponentially over the past four years and it’s reached a point where former Golden State Warriors star Stephen Jackson is comfortable listing him among the top five centers of all-time. On the latest episode of the Unplugged podcast, the retired NBA star said,
“Every time I watch Jokić play, [Nikola Jokić] goes higher on my list by the game. Not by the year, not by the season. He’s going higher on my best center of all time list by the game… He’s in my top five. I got Shaq[uille O’Neal], I got Hakeem Olajuwon, I got Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], and I got Joker.”
Jackson named Wilt Chamberlain to round off his top five centers list. He left out a few massive names like Moses Malone, who is on the list of players with three or more MVP awards that Jokić is set to join, and 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell to make room for the Nuggets superstar. Both players’ resumes speak for themselves and it’s easy to argue that they deserve a place about the Serbian superstar on the all-time list. However, Jokić is 29 and has already matched most of Malone’s greatest achievements, while Russell played on a stacked Celtics team in an era where the competition was minimal.
While neither player’s accomplishments can be diminished, Jackson placing Jokic above them on his all-time list isn’t as controversial as it may seem upon hearing it for the first time. The Nuggets superstar has many years to add to his already impressive resume.
Shaquille O’Neal has already given Nikola Jokić the ultimate praise
Shaquille O’Neal loves stirring the pot with controversial takes and is extremely opinionated about legacies and all-time rankings. He always brags about having G14 classification, a made-up term from the Rush Hour movie, which gives O’Neal and players with stellar resumes the right to make eyebrow-raising claims and not be called out for it.
However, O’Neal has nothing controversial to say about Jokić. On the contrary, the four-time NBA champion gave him a compliment that players from the era gone by rarely bestow upon today’s star. On a recent episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, he and retired NBA star JJ Redick discussed whether modern-day centers could thrive in O’Neal’s era. The Hall of Famer gave Jokić the nod and said,
“When I started dominating, you know with all these guys they bringing in if they couldn’t have played with us, that’s how I judge them. Joker I think, he could have played with us because he has the ability to go inside outside.”
Impressing O’Neal is a tough chore, but getting him to admit that he’d dominate during his heyday is among Jokić’s finest achievements. Few can find holes in his resume or his seemingly unstoppable playing style. If the Nuggets superstar continues dominating in the same vein for a few more years, he could rank among the best players ever, let alone the best centers.
