Star amid stars is Nikola Jokić. He has spent the last several years demonstrating his worth, and his trophy cabinet, which features two MVPs and a Finals MVP title, is unmistakable proof that he is one of the greatest players in NBA history.
He was the only Denver Nuggets player to compete in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night. The majority of what he did there is unimportant and will be forgotten. However, as ardent Denver supporters are aware, Jokić’s brilliance is rooted in something more profound and profound.
As well-known and seasoned NBA broadcaster Kevin Harlan says, he truly is one of a kind.
Harlan said, “I’ve never seen the likes of him before.”
And that’s saying a lot because, as he points out, he’s always seen remnants of a previous NBA icon anytime he sees one of the true greats. Up until Nikola Jokić, that was always the case.
“I could honestly say that I saw Michael Jordan when I saw Kobe Bryant,” Harlan remarked. Because he’s just so much bigger and more of a brute force, and because he does things differently, I see LeBron James as a hybrid of Wes Unseld, Jordan, Kobe, and everyone in between.
“I’ve never seen, Jokić.”
Harlan found that the Lithuanian legend Arvydas Sabonis was the closest analogy. However, by the time he joined the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA in the 1990s, his physical prime had long ago passed.
“And I played a few games with the legendary [Lithuanian] player Arvydas Sabonis many, many years ago,” Harlan remarked. He passed the ball really well. Yet, we caught him nearing the end of his run. He wasn’t the same player when we saw him when his body was failing.
Therefore, Nikola Jokić is more than just a fantastic player; he may be headed toward a third NBA MVP, which would add him to an elite group that only eight players have ever been a part of: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Moses Malone, and the all-time record holder, six-time MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Thus, Jokić is unmatched in his passing style, according to Harlan. “It’s amazing how easily he can withstand impact and battle through it, even though I know he’s putting in a lot of work to make it appear that way. I believe we undervalue his strength since he is really strong.
“Everything about him, Andrew—his vision to see others around him, his ability to know when the team needs him and when he needs to be facilitating, because the opposing defense has to give him so much respect—is amazing. All of this just distinguishes him from other people. In my 37 years in the NBA, I have yet to encounter someone quite like him.
And Harlan has seen them all since the 1980s. The Kansas City Kings, the team he worked for, haven’t had that name or a franchise location in almost 39 years. He started announcing NBA games in 1982.
Harlan has seen over fifty percent of the NBA’s existence. Furthermore, in his perspective, Nikola Jokić is unmatched.
