Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce recently claimed that Nikola Jokic was easily the best, most dominant player in the world. Speaking to Kevin Garnett on the KG Certified podcast, Pierce was asked about who in his opinion was the best player in the league. While Garnett pushed him to choose LeBron James, Pierce ended up claiming that it was Nikola Jokic.
Advertisement
Fresh off a championship victory with the Nuggets, Jokic has gotten to usual business quite quickly. Comparing the pair of LeBron James and Nikola Jokic to Nike sneakers, Pierce said that he would prefer the fresh, viral Nikes, instead of the Classic ones that “look good.”
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett engage in playful banter over Nikola Jokic and LeBron James
The two legends found themselves in playful banter over their differing opinions of who the best player in the NBA is. Kevin Garnett obviously thought it was still LeBron James, despite the LA Lakers superstar now being 38 years old.
Paul Pierce, on the other hand, gave a more current response, claiming that it was the 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic instead.
“I mean, he is the best player Joker. Joker is the best player in the league. I mean he’s dominant. He is playing big,” Paul commented, before comparing LeBron and Joker to Nike sneakers.
He claimed that while LeBron James is akin to an old Nike classic that still looks good, Joker was cracking right now.
“These new fresh Nikes are cracking right now. You wanna get the old classics, you can, but these new Nikes, they are cracking right now. Give me the Joker. With the first pick, give me Nikola Jokic…I am getting the new viral ones Nikes] ,” he said.
Pierce went on to claim that the league had not yet found a solution to Jokic and talked about his quick return to fitness. The Serbian International was spotted vacationing back home for much of the offseason but has returned to form quickly.
He produced his 2nd straight double-double in the Nuggets’ latest victory over the Grizzlies and has seemed in familiarly dominant touch.
Nikola Jokic did not play basketball during the offseason
Jokic appears to have had the time of his life vacationing back home. In a recent conversation with TNT’s Kenny Smith, he claimed that he ensured that he lifted weights every single day.
However, that went hand-in-hand with his absence in relation to on-court activities. Jokic revealed that while he lifted weights every day, he might have been guilty of skipping being on the court for a few days.
Kenny Smith: “What was your offseason like this year? How much basketball did you play?”
Nikola Jokic: “I didnt skip any days in the weight room, maybe a little bit on the court. A couple days, or a month, or two months.” 🤣
(via @NBAonTNT)pic.twitter.com/UyuXeTu4ON
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 25, 2023
Apart from his own admission, Jokic’s teammate Jamal Murray had also revealed recently that he did not touch a basketball during the offseason. Of course, fans will be delighted with the fact that that has not translated into any stagnation, as far as the first two regular season games are concerned.
Talking about going head to head with LeBron James and the Lakers, Joker crushed them 4-0 in the conference finals, in the last season, and recently, in the season opener again, Jokic and Co. emerged victorious against the Lakers.
