Celtics Starter Gives Tremendous Statement on Guarding Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic is a basketball mastermind.

Nikola Jokic is 1 of 1 talent and a pure basketball savant. He sees the game of basketball in a way that no one else can, and that's something even his opposition can agree with.

After the Nuggets defeated the Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis opened up about having to guard Nikola Jokic and gave him the biggest praise possible.

"It's not an easy task," Porzingis said after the game. "Believe me, it's not an easy task. He's the main focus, obviously, and he still gets his numbers pretty much every night. He's just that good. He's not fast, he's not anything, but pure basketball talent, pure basketball mastermind."

While Porzingis calling Jokic not fast "or anything" could be misconstrued as a dig, calling him a pure basketball mind is a very high compliment. The Celtics big man is basically admitting that he has better physical attributes than Jokic, but there's nothing he can do to stop Jokic because he's such a superior basketball talent. 

For an NBA player to admit that another player's basketball talent is superior is one of the highest forms of praise possible. It's the type of statement that James Harden could never say about a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo. Most NBA players look at basketball skill as the penultimate trait, and that's why so many hold a player like Kyrie Irving in such high regard. That's why Porzingis' words about Jokic are so impactful.

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