“I Watched Michael Jordan Because He’s Jordan”: Nikola Jokic’s ‘Brutal’ Honesty On Why He Watched Magic Johnson And Hakeem Olajuwon

Nikola Jokic has been on a tear ever since the Nuggets suffered a first-round elimination in the 2022 Playoff. Averaging 24.5/11.8/9.8 in the 2022-2023 regular season, the Joker led the Colorado-based franchise to a 53-win season. Amidst a sensational postseason run, the Serbian superstar has been lodging surreal numbers as Mike Malone’s boys have now reached the NBA Finals. Revolutionizing the game, making it more positionless than ever before, Jokic revealed watching the mixtapes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Hakeem Olajuwon when YouTube initially launched.

With 2 MVPs under his belt, the Denver leader has already established himself as one of the best big men in the history of the game. However, winning a championship would have an adverse effect on his legacy, in terms of jumping up on the all-time list.

Some analysts even believe that Nikola would already have a better career than Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant if he managed to win the title.

“Watched Michael Jordan because he is Jordan”: Nikola Jokic

It is difficult to compare Nikola to any player, past or present. Standing at 6-foot-11, the 5-time All-Star is able to pass, dribble, and rebound equally efficiently.

However, in his article from “The Players’ Tribune”, Nikola admitted to watching the mixtapes of Jordan, Johnson, and Hakeem.

When YouTube came out when I was like 15, I watched Magic because of his passing, and Hakeem because of his post moves, and Jordan because he is Jordan.

Yes, one can draw similarities between Johnson’s passing and Hakeem’s footwork to that of Nikola’s. However, it seems hilarious that His Airness had utterly different sets of skills than the 5-time All-NBA player.

Jordan was a fast-paced, high-leaping, and athletic guard. Unfortunately, Jokic is neither of those three. In fact, some would even argue that he is the complete opposite – slow and sluggish.

The Joker receives immense praise from Magic Johnson

While dominating LeBron James and co., Nikola would be named the Earvin Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP. Named in honor of the LAL icon, Jokic received high praise from the legend himself.

According to the former Hall-Of-Famer, the 28-year-old joined a group of very elite players who were changing the game of basketball. Johnson tweeted:

The Joker is changing the game of basketball right before our very eyes much like Michael, Larry, LeBron, Steph, Kobe, Kareem, and Shaq.

Having gone from watching Magic’s highlights on YouTube to now being lauded by Johnson, Jokic has certainly come a long way and should be proud of his constant improvement.