Nikola Jokic has put together quite an impressive basketball resume over the last handful of years. The Denver Nuggets superstar center has won three of the last five NBA regular-season MVP awards, and once this regular season concludes, he will have averaged a triple-double for the second year in a row.
He led the Nuggets to their first world championship three years ago, and at times, he seems unguardable. He is likely the greatest passing big man of all time, and he seems to be able to score at least 25 points on each night at a high efficiency rate in his sleep.
Jokic’s growing resume has some basketball fans wondering where he ranks among the greatest big men to ever play the game. Hall of Famer Robert Parish, who himself was a fine center during his playing days in the 1980s and 1990s, feels Jokic isn’t just one of the greatest centers ever — he feels Jokic is becoming one of the greatest players ever, period.
He expressed that sentiment during an appearance on “Run It Back on FanDuel TV.”
“They may have to bring out another seat for him,” Parish said. “They might have to add a chair to the all-time great table. … He’s the only one of this generation, the young generation, that I think is almost certain to be an all-time great.”
This season, Jokic is averaging 27.7 points on 57.2% from the field and 38.7% from 3-point range, 13 rebounds and 10.8 assists a game. He’s currently leading the league in both rebounds and assists average, and it appears he will end the season ranked first in both categories. Wilt Chamberlain is the only center who has ever led the league in total assists in a season, but Jokic is on his way to joining him in that regard.
For his career, the Serbian native has averages of 22.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists a game. At age 31, he appears to have at least a few more years left in his prime, which will pump up his career averages by the time it is all said and done.
He’s built like a tank at 284 pounds, and he is a big load to deal with in the paint. His touch in the paint seems effortless, and his ability to step out and hit long shots makes him seem impossible to contain, especially with his behind-the-head shooting form.
For Jokic to end up in the hallowed stratosphere Parish feels he belongs in, he may have to lead Denver to another NBA title. This season, the team has been inconsistent while dealing with injuries to key players, but lately, it has been picking things up. It has won seven games in a row and 10 of its last 12, and it is in fourth place in the Western Conference.
For the Nuggets to go all the way, they will likely have to win three playoff series without home-court advantage. But anything seems to be possible in the wild, wild West, especially when a team such as the Nuggets ends the regular season with plenty of momentum.
But at least for now, Jokic likely deserves even more praise than he’s getting, especially considering the fact that he’s, at best, barely in the MVP discussion.