Nikola Zhokic is already one of the best players ever in the NBA, but Kendrick Perkins has given him the highest acclaim of all time.
The Denver Nuggets sometimes didn’t look like the best team in the world in both the regular season and the playoffs, but they still boast the best personal talent in the NBA, even if he can’t win an MVP.
Nikola Jokic averaged 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 10.8 assists and 2.3 steals across four games. He also shoots 47.6% red-hot from the 3-point range on the right scale.
Against the Los Angeles Clippers, he posted 36 points and 21 rebounds in Game 4 and 13 assists in Game 3. Aaron Gordon has tied the series together by winning flowers for his dunk in his heads-up game to seal off Game 4, but Jokic has done something he hasn’t seen since the 1960s.
While Michael Jordan and LeBron James are two uncontroversial players in NBA history, Bill Russell is the league’s first superstar, and combining his off-court activism with his record-off-court activism makes him a close appearance.
In 1966, Russell took over as a coach and player for the Boston Celtics, leading him to two titles.
Jokic’s ability to create plays, break defenses and execute them in court made him loft to comparisons with Russell.
“Tonight’s player coach combination was Bill Russell and I thought he was all the fashion, assists and especially the offensive glass beasts from the point,” Kendrick Perkins declared.
“He had five (offensive rebounds) tonight, and we saw him replace him from time to time. It’s hard for everyone to stop him when he’s in that type of zone.”
After the Nuggets fired Michael Malone and brought in David Adelman to coach the team just before the postseason, Jokic made him feel his presence.
Stephen Curry had an All-Star teammate. So did LeBron James, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant. Even Michael Jordan had a significant portion of his talent around him.
Jokic never shared a courtroom with fellow Denver All-Stars. Not only is he the best player in the league, he also drags his mediocre (at best) roster into the title conversation. He serves as Denver’s leading passerby, rebounder and scorer.
Now, it appears he has made a roster decision midway through the game and has decided on a rotation.
James is often praised as well as his ability to break down opposing defenses and know his opponent’s playbook. He is also called the “leg” because of the hands he appears to have in the construction of the roster, but has never been shamelessly taken over as head coach during the game.
The last official head coach/player was Dave Cowens in the 1978-79 season, while Tree Rollins served as assistant coach position at the Orlando Magic in 1994-95, and had to play 51 games that season. The current NBA collective bargaining agreement prevents coaches from wearing suits, but if that were the case, Jokic will soon be inked into a double contract by Denver.