Grabbing a 108-95 Game 4 victory today, the Denver Nuggets have won both contests on the road at the Kaseya Center. While role players such as Aaron Gordon (27/7/6) and Bruce Brown (21 points) had huge performances, it all came down to yet another historic showing from Nikola Jokic. Lodging a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double, the Joker became the first player ever to record 500+ points, 250+ rebounds, and 100+ assists in a single playoff run. Just one win away from leading his franchise to their first-ever championship, the Serbian is finally receiving his dues after dominating the league for some time now. Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas became the latest in line to heap praises on Denver’s big man.
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Zeke has shared the locker room with the likes of Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, and several other dominant big men. Over the course of his 13-year career, the Bad Boy Pistons leader has even faced off against the likes of Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, among many other centers. Despite having shared the court with some of the game’s greatest big men, the Baby-Faced Assassin made a bold claim about Jokic being one of the smartest big men ever.
Isiah Thomas calls Nikola Jokic one of the smartest Big Men in NBA history
After the Colorado side’s 13-point win, Isiah Thomas joined the NBA TV crew to unpack Game 4 of the NBA Finals. During the postgame show, the Hall-Of-Fame point guard went on to hail the European superstar as one of the smartest big men ever. Explaining his take to Kenny Smith, the two-time NBA champ said:
“Denver have the best player in the series. They have the Joker…We’re not getting ready to say that he’s the greatest big man to ever play and all of that. But he [Nikola Jokic] might be one of the smartest big men to ever play because he has an answer to every problem that you throw at him.”
Thomas isn’t wrong here. Jokic is indeed a smart player.
Armed with a high basketball IQ player, the 6-foot-11 center doesn’t seem to be making too many wrong plays. Acting as a floor general, Jokic manages to find an open teammate every single time he runs into a dead end. The Serbian maestro has a unique way of dishing out open threes to his teammates whenever he finds himself in a mess in the paint. With the offense running through him, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player can dribble, pass, shoot, and rebound equally effectively – acting as a mismatch for most of his matchups.
The likes of Tim Duncan, Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell, and Olajuwon are often regarded as the smartest big men in league history. Without a doubt, Jokic belongs in that category and could even surpass them as the smartest big man ever.
Jokic is now one win away from clinching his first-ever NBA Championship
Despite being a two-time MVP, five-time All-Star, and five-time All-NBA player in his eight-year long NBA career, Jokic has barely received his dues in the league.
Often criticized for not having an impactful postseason run, these kinds of narratives did act as a huge reason behind him not winning a third-straight MVP this year. And how has Jokic been proving his doubters wrong? Through a historic potential championship run this postseason.
Winning a title and adding a Finals MVP to his name would not only shut any and all comparisons with Joel Embiid, but would also boost Jokic in the All-Time list of NBA greats.
However, the Nuggets do need one more win in order to create history. Even though only one team has come back from a 3-1 deficit in the history of the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler and Co’s Cinderella run has proved them to be a resilient bunch of players.
