Nearly a decade into his NBA career, Nikola Jokic finding multiple ways to dominate a game no longer surprises anyone. But after the superstar center did whatever he wanted to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Denver Nuggets’ playoff opener on Saturday night, James Worthy took a compliment for Jokic a massive step further.
While breaking down why the Nuggets beat the Lakers during the Spectrum Sportsnet Live postgame show, Worthy said Jokic is an extremely unique combination of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
That means a lot coming from a Hall of Fame player who won three championships with the famous Lakers duo:
"Para mim, é Magic (Johnson) e Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) na quadra ao mesmo tempo. Como armador, ele toma grandes decisões, ótimos passes, e ele também pode ser Kareem, ele vai lá e domina"
James Worthy falando sobre Nikola Jokic após o G1. pic.twitter.com/uwHP3PBJ5o
— Nuggets BR 🇧🇷 (@Nuggets_Brasil) April 21, 2024
Worthy’s rationale for this Jokic compliment makes perfect sense.
On one end, Jokic is a remarkable floor general, always finding ways to make plays for his teammates and elevate his team’s floor, just like Johnson did for years. But if he has to, Jokic can also take over the game in the post, showing off a deep bag of offensive scoring moves, just like the NBA’s all-time No. 2 scorer, Abdul-Jabbar.
For all intents and purposes, Worthy’s description of Jokic makes him sound like the most complete offensive player in league history. Well, perhaps he is.
