LeBron James has played against plenty of NBA legends in his two-plus decades as one of the brightest stars in the league, but it’s possible that no player has ever impressed him to the extent of Nuggets big man Nikola Jokić.
On a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast, Steve Nash asked James whether Jokić,between his vision, his passing and his ability to score at all three levels, is “the best offensive player” he’d ever played against, and after a few moments of consideration, James essentially agreed.
“There has not been a more dominant, complete player that I’ve played against, in a sense of attributes that you just mentioned,” James said. “From the passing to the shooting to the rebounding to the attention. There’s nothing he cannot do on the offensive end. Like, nothing at all. Nothing. You try to double him, he’s going to make you pay. You try to play him single coverage, he’s going to make you pay.
“He even brings the ball up the floor. They outlet the ball to him. I don’t know off the top of my head, there’s been a couple, but guys where a point guard would rebound the ball and outlet it to their center to push the break. That lets you know how amazing this guy is.”
No one doubts the dominance of Jokić—there’s a reason he’s a three-time MVP—but still, getting such high praise from a player like James is meaningful. This is a guy who has played alongside bucket-getters including Kyrie Irving and Dwyane Wade, and is currently teammates with Luka Dončić.
It just goes to show how unique Jokić’s skillset is, and how effective his game is in the modern NBA.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Had the Highest Praise for Nikola Jokić: ’Most Complete Player'.
