Inside The Nuggets

Boston Celtics Star Makes Strong Nikola Jokic Statement

The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics are facing off on Tuesday night.

Joey Linn

Jan 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Ball Arena.
Jan 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Ball Arena. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics are facing off in an exciting showdown on Tuesday night. In a battle of the last two NBA champions, Denver and Boston will tip-off at 10:00 PM ET in a nationally televised TNT game.

This matchup also features two of the NBA’s best players, who happen to be the most recent Player of the Week winners. Named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday, Jokic will battle Celtics star Jayson Tatum who took home the Eastern Conference honors. 

Tatum has been one of the NBA’s best players this season, but he also has a very talented collection of teammates. One of them spoke highly of Jokic on Tuesday.

Nikola Jokic and Kristaps Porzingis
Jan 19, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots against Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) in the first quarter at TD Garden. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Speaking with reporters at shootaround, Celtics star Kristaps Porzingis said Jokic is probably the NBA’s best player right now.

“He’s probably the best player in the world,” Porzingis said of Jokic.

Porzingis added, “He makes everyone on that team much better.”

This seems to be the most commonly held opinion among NBA fans and players. Winning three of the last four MVP awards, Jokic could very well win another this season, especially if the Nuggets climb up the standings.

While both the Nuggets and Celtics have some strong challengers in their respective conferences, there is a chance Tuesday’s night’s game is an NBA Finals preview. It should be an exciting matchup at Ball Arena. 

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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