Kevin Garnett is one of the greatest big men of the 21st century. The 2004 MVP carried a mediocre Minnesota Timberwolves team to their first extended stretch of success, going toe-to-toe with the early 2000s Los Angeles Lakers dynasty. He was later traded to the Boston Celtics, where he won a championship.
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So Garnett knows greatness when he sees it. On the most recent episode of Ticket & The Truth, he and his cohost, former co-star Paul Pierce, discussed Nikola Jokic and his all-time standing in the greatness debate. This was after the Denver Nuggets looked primed to give the OKC Thunder a bigger challenge than anyone else has been able to.
Pierce asserted that Jokic’s prime is second only to the great Michael Jordan. Garnett does not see it that way, although he admits the Serbian center is undeniably excellent.
“When they name the MVP, and it ain’t gonna be Joker, that’s crazy,” said Pierce.
Garnett replied: “This is probably one of the best years I’ve ever seen a player play that won’t win MVP.”
Pierce then recalled the point he made in an earlier conversation. “So the other day, on Fox Network, I said, minus the championships, [Jokic’s] prime is, you can argue, better than Bron’s [LeBron James], KD’s [Kevin Durant], Steph’s [Curry], those three. That’s the pillars of this generation.”
Garnett was not on board, however. “Stat-wise, he’s dominating,” admitted KG, “but it doesn’t equate to winning. When you mention those guys that you named, that type of influence equated into them winning.”
It’s also worth noting that the stars were flanked by excellent players during their dominant seasons. In 2000, Shaquille O’Neal had Kobe Bryant. In 1992-93, Jordan had Scottie Pippen. Nikola Jokic has Jamal Murray, who certainly improves in the playoffs, but may not be a top-100 player and has never even been an All-Star.
Fans were mostly unhappy with Pierce’s take, though. One fan said, “Anytime a former player talks about how great someone is, 9 times out of 10 it’s passive-aggressively shading a rival player they don’t like.”
It implies that this opinion was born from a continued hatred that Pierce holds for LeBron and was part of an effort to put James’ greatness in a lesser light.
It seems that the player comparison game continues to be a lose-lose situation. When past players praise current ones, they’re spreading a narrative. When they attack their modern counterparts, they’re haters. But one thing is for certain: Pierce loves Jokic.
