NBA Defensive Player of the Year Gets Honest on Guarding Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic is a problem.

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

If the NBA Playoffs have reminded everyone of one thing, it's that Nikola Jokic is best player in the NBA right now. The big man is absolutely unstoppable and has been showing it time and time again. Even Defensive Player of the Year winners can't seem to find an exact way to stop him.

Last year's Defensive Player of the Year winner Jaren Jackson Jr. was a guest on Inside the NBA where he was asked about the difficulties of guarding Nikola Jokic. Even someone as skilled as Jackson didn't have a clear answer for guarding the three-time MVP.

"You just don't know what you're going to have to deal with," Jackson said. "He might be bringing the ball up, he might be in a getting everybody involved kind of mode. If he gets in the post, it's hard to deal with him. If he gets to his spots and the floater and then he hits with you the three ball, he kinda has everything."

The realistic answer to stopping Nikola Jokic is that you don't. No one is really going to hold him to under 15 points, and the main goal is to make him uncomfortable while trying to win.

"You just have to make it hard for him," Jackson said. "You're not going to hold him to 0, you're not going to really hold him to 15. You try to get the win, but if he's playing smooth and you make him comfortable, it's difficult."

As much as Draymond Green or Rudy Gobert or anyone else claims that they can stop Nikola Jokic, the reality is that no one can right now.

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