Will Nikola Jokic reach top-10 ALL TIME in NBA ranks? | Denver Nuggets
Jason answers a mailbag question on whether Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic can reach top-10 all-time NBA status and what he has to do to join that top tier.
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20 Comments
Yes. He's arguably top 15 already.
There would have to be some pretty intense narratives or unfortunate, unforeseen circumstances for him to not end up top 10
mailbag: what year or what gam did you know that jokic was the best offensive player you have ever seen. essentially what event stamped this for you
He could for sure get that top 10-6 area, but he’d need a minimum of 2 chips and other deep post season runs, along with great stats to enter. He’s already top 20
I think he clearly is top 10, and I dislike considering team accomplishments when ranking players.
Team is more about how good us the front office, what are the salary cap rules etc.
I think it's all rings at this point for Jokic. There are 12 players in NBA history who are the pantheon of greatness to use Bill Simmons' phrasing. They all have multiple rings as the undisputed best player on their team except maybe Wilt chamberlain if you think West was better in 72.
If Jokic never wins another ring I just don't see putting him above any of those guys. He would cap out at 13.
If he wins one more, he gets into that group and it gets really subjective. The order of 4-12 all-time is a mess depending on what you value. Peak? Longevity? Dominance in your era? Strength of competition? If Jokic wins this year, he's probably not at the top of that group, but he's somewhere in there and justifiably top 10.
2 more rings and Jokic jumps to the top of that group for me around 4-6 all-time. 3 rings as the best player on your team in a stacked era and most of a decade as the best in the world is a good enough resume to stack up against anyone short of Jordan or Lebron.
I believe if he's gets another ring, especially considering that it may also be without another all star teammate, when it's said and done he'll be top ten. Another mvp along the way will make that a lock, however I be visiting this until another three years unless he dominates again this season on the way to the two things I just mentioned. It wouldn't hurt if the Nuggets take out OKC along the way.
Jokic NEVER in his career had an allstar, all defence or all nba teammate. Shaq for example had 20+ of those! And for rings you need teammates. Tis will be Jokic's first season he has a decent team around him, but still no allstar, no all defence nor all nba teammate.
No matter how you feel about LeBron James he went to 10 NBA finals magic went to nine Kareem went to 10 Michael Jordan went to six getting to the finals is a hell of a accomplishment winning. It is even better. The man has only won one championship. He hasn’t even got to two finals.
1 more MVP and 1 more chip and he’s the greatest center ever imo. I know what Shaq did but what Jokic has done WITHOUT ANOTHER ALL STAR is nothing short of a miracle.
Wow no draft kings or gambling ad? What a nice surprise. (Zero sarcasm. Feeding into gambling addiction isn't a good thing and I lose a lot of respect for any creator pushing that BS but that's just my personal opinion)
top 10 play defense
If he wins more
The ball dominant engine archetype has less championships than any other archetype in basketball history. They're harder to build around and they limit the players around them. They're relied on for far too much which is why they don't win often
Will he ever win a game by scoring 50 points?
Will he ever average 30 points in a season?
Will he ever win a playoff series against a team with 50+ regular-season wins?
Will he take the ball for the last possession instead of leaving it to Murray?
Will he ever stop someone on defense?
Record: beat old LeBron in his play-in team and Miami with 42 wins in the play-in (Finals team).
Top 10 all time, lmaoo.
Poor Luka 😭 hope he’s not watching this.
Been watching hoops since the early 2000’s .. there is not more than 2 players i’ve ever seen better than Jokic at basketball
Chamberlin has 4 MVPs + 2 Champions, if Jokic get that I think he's lock as a top-10 guy, and he has by far the worst teammates of the top-10 players
Wherever you have Hakeem, Joker with 1 more MVP or championship leaps him. Likely Steph as well.
Will Jokic go higher than 3rd best player all time, where he currently is, would be a better debate
Love your work, but I can't agree about necessary rings for Jokic. Maybe it's because I grew up cheering for Wilt, but I think rings are almost irrelevant when comparing players. Rings are about teams, though, of course, players who get the opportunity can show their true greatness in the finals, but very few get that chance without top level team mates. Consider this: Kareem was recognized as as the best player of his era, but only won one ring before he started playing with Magic at age 32. He chided Wilt for being a loser, but Kareem only won 3 rings in 15 years (2 with Magic) to Wilt's 2 in 14 years – not that big of a difference. Besides that, it's crazy to compare players from different positions. For me, there were 12 players in NBA history who dominated their eras (four sets of co-greatest), and that should be the only criterion for ranking, with none of them above the others. Here's my list: Mikan, Russell/Chamberlain, Kareem, Bird/Magic, Jordan, Shaq/Kobe, Lebron/Duncan, Jokic.