Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has proven to be a beast during his career in the NBA. He's been an All-Star five times, a three-time All-NBA First Team player, and he has won the regular season MVP the last two seasons.
Even with all of those accolades, it appears Jokic is getting better, as he's in the running to win a third-straight MVP, and this season, there's team success to back up his case. The Nuggets currently sit at the top spot in the Western Conference standings.
As good as Nikola Jokic has been, it's still impossible to please everybody with accomplishments. Haters will do their job, which to try and find anything negative about overall positive things. For Jokic's game, the haters would say the eye test doesn't match the stats he has to his credit. For those views, JJ Redick has a response, and he let the NSFW rant fly when he appeared on his TheOldMan&TheThree podcast (via the ClutchPoints Twitter page).
"What the f*ck are you watching? Because when I watch [Nikola] Jokic, I see dominance, I see someone who makes his teammates better… When we talk about value in a team sport, I think he's at the top of the list."
JJ Redick sounded OFF on the Jokic pic.twitter.com/7g8iVzXcwV… https://t.co/XtnSqsDEHq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 27, 2023
It's my job to respond or critique what Redick said, but it would be hard to top his words. With that said, I'll just say I agree with the above quote.
Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season, with his numbers being 24.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10 assists per game. Those numbers are good with or without an eye test, and for those who can't see the impact the center has on Denver, (again) see Redick's quote.
In his MVP seasons, it was the play of Jokic that kept the Nuggets afloat. Knowing that, it's hard to say he doesn't make his team better when he's the one player on the court (due to injuries to other players) opponents have to worry about on a nightly basis.
With that said, if haters hate, Jokic is doing a great job, and apparently, Redick is there to fight them off for him.
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