Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has tormented the Los Angeles Lakers over the past two years. But one former Lakers great believes he sees some shades of purple and gold in Jokic’s game.
Jokic led the Nuggets to a 114-103 second-half dismantling of the Lakers to take Game 1 of their first-round series. The Nuggets star was his usual versatile self with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists on 15/23 shooting from the field.
Multi-time Lakers champion James Worthy weighed in on Jokic during the Spectrum SportsNet postgame show following LA’s Game 1 defeat. The Hall of Famer compared Jokic to two names Lakers fans are probably familiar with: Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“To me, [Jokic] is Magic [Johnson] and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] on the floor at the same time. He’s a guard. He makes great decisions. Hell of a passer. And then when he wants to be Kareem, he goes down and dominates. He’s a special player that does a lot of things,” said Worthy of the Joker.
James Worthy on greatness of Jokic:
“To me Jokic is Magic Johnson & Kareem on the floor at the same time.”
He’s been ILLmatic since 2020-21 yet goobers like @GilsArenaShow @getnickwright spew nonsense like “He’s worst MVP of last 40yrs” among many other embarrassing Joker takes. pic.twitter.com/ikJXWO5zS1— SportsComedyRap (@SuperDopeHipHop) April 21, 2024
Being called a fusion of two of the greatest players of all-time is a testament to how great Jokic has become.
Worthy arguably has the most standing to make such a comparison given that he played seven seasons together with both Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar. Worthy was the third star that helped the Lakers win three rings as the swingman for the Showtime Lakers.
Jokic has been a bona fide playoff stud throughout his career. His postseason prowess was only truly the attention it deserved after the Serbian led the Denver Nuggets all the way to the NBA title last season.
Jokic has averaged 27.6 points, 12.1 points, and 7.3 assists per game across 69 playoff games throughout his career. The Nuggets star’s shooting splits are at a stellar 53.0% from the field, 41.1% from three, and 82.4% from the free throw line.
Jokic also currently owns the highest playoff PER in NBA history, just over Michael Jordan.
The fact that Jokic can play like a Magic-Kareem hybrid while the Nuggets star walks into the arena dressed like a cartoon character makes the experience of watching postseason Jokic even more surreal.
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