The Warriors are playing the Nuggets at home tonight. Ahead of the very important matchup in the context of Western Conference standings, coach Steve Kerr heaped praise on Nikola Jokic. The Joker has been on an incredible run, and Kerr praised him for being the best he has ever seen.
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The best center debate isn’t as hot a topic as the greatest basketball player ever. This is mainly because some of the top five rank holders are always showing love and appreciation to others.
Shaquille O’Neal is undeniably one of those five players. He is in great company alongside the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Hakeem Olajuwon. However, Kerr believes that it’s time to reshuffle the longstanding, unofficial rankings. As per the Warriors’ head coach, Jokic is the best center of all time.
Ahead of the Nuggets game, he said that he has played against KAJ and he wasn’t as dynamic as the Joker. Kerr said, “He’s [Nikola Jokic] the best center I’ve ever seen. I played against Kareem. I’m that old. And Kareem couldn’t do all this stuff. He’s absolutely one of the smartest players ever.”
That’s a tall claim to make even for someone as experienced as Kerr. However, he seems confident that the Joker has surpassed some of the all-time greats, including The Captain. But the question is, how is Shaq going to take this claim? As per a Redditor, the big fella is not going to be happy about it. The fan wrote, “Shaq is not gonna like this lol.”
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Shaq is a proud member of the ‘Big Men Alliance.’ He treats this elite group of NBA bigs with utmost respect while humbly claiming the title of the ‘Most Dominant Ever.’ If Shaq is going to have a problem with anything, it’ll be Kerr’s claim about Jokic being the best ever. Because the Lakers legend himself has put Jokic in the top five in previous discussions.
During a conversation on First Things First, Shaq was asked what Jokic has to do to be part of the top-five centers group. Surprisingly, taking himself out of the aforementioned top five, Shaq stated that Jokic is already in there. He said, “He’s on that list for me. I wouldn’t really put myself on that list.”
Nick Wright asks Shaq what Jokic needs to accomplish in order to be considered a top 5 center of all time.
"He's on that list for me" pic.twitter.com/ihcjkx2eC6
— n i k o l a e s t h e t i c (@nikolaesthetic) November 14, 2024
If we use talent as the primary measuring stick, Jokic is definitely on the all-time top-five centers list. However, his resume, when stacked against the other names on that list, isn’t as brilliant as theirs in terms of titles. Fortunately, he’s only 30 years old and still has a lot to achieve in this league. If he ends up adding another MVP title and a championship to his resume, he’ll undeniably be a top-three center of all time and will be pushing the envelope on top 10 all-time greats, period.
