Nikola Jokic’s historic 35 point, 22 rebound, 17 assist performance against the Sacramento Kings on January 23 is rivaled only by Wilt Chamberlain. ‘The Stilt’ is the only other player in NBA history to record 35+ points, 20+ rebounds and 15+ assists in a single game.
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It’s made ‘The Big Ticket’ Kevin Garnett call out parallels between the two centers on the recent episode of his podcast with Paul Pierce.
“Joker’s Wilt. Joker is doing Wilt [Chamberlain] like s***, bro.
“No athleticism really. Slow rolling, going at his own pace. It’s not a miracle but when you watch it, it’s efficient and it’s prolific and it’s constant,” KG said.
Kevin Garnett: “Joker is Wilt.”
(via @kg_certified) pic.twitter.com/MWmhCTRif6
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) January 27, 2025
The Big Ticket and the Truth were in awe of the Serbian giant after he recorded five straight triple-doubles while playing less than 36 minutes in each game. It’s a feat that had never been achieved before and likely never will again, like many of Chamberlain’s records.
Jokic is currently in the top 5 of the league in points, rebounds, assists, steals, 3-point percentage, double-doubles and triple-doubles this season. Naturally, a campaign like this is going to draw comparisons to Chamberlain’s dominance in the early 1960s.
In fact, Garnett rates the Joker so highly that even a decade after retiring, he is imagining how he would have limited the three-time MVP on offense, had he been his rival currently.
Garnett has a defensive plan for Jokic
It is interesting that in the final phase of his career, the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year did battle it out against a young Jokic as many as four times while being part of the Timberwolves. And Jokic had the last laugh, with the Nuggets winning three of those games between 2015 and 2016.
Although Jokic was not that big back then and Garnett was already a star, KG would have got an inkling of the Serb’s talent, as he scored as many as 19 points in one of those games.
So he would have possibly drawn from his own experience as much as his analytical mindset to talk about how he would attempt to limit the playmaking big man.
“If I’m having to guard Joker right now bro, the first thing I’m gonna do, I’m gonna initiate the fight early. Soon as you take it out and you’re trailing, man I’m waiting on you. I’m at the free-throw line on that end waiting on you,” KG said last year before Jokic’s historic 2024-25 campaign.
Along with a full-court press, Garnett expressed that the best way to bother Jokic is by digging into his frame. But he also recognized how the Nuggets superstar would use his IQ to outsmart any consistent defensive coverage.
“You can not give him the same thing ’cause that’s what he’s doing. Joker is so smart, he’ll let you come down, he’ll let you initiate. He’s like a counter-puncher… So in that, either you gotta mix it up or initiate. And then on the offensive end, we gonna run. I’m gonna we see how good of a shape you are in.”
Well, it seems not many defenders have an answer to the rampaging Jokic, who is now in the driver’s seat to establish himself as one of the greatest centers of all-time in the sport.
