NBA All-Star Reveals Truth on Guarding Nikola Jokic

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic receives high praise from a fellow NBA All-Star.

Nov 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts to a play during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has consistently been a top player in the NBA for years, winning the MVP award three of the last four seasons. The Nuggets are not on pace to as good of a season as the past two years, but Jokic is looking to have the best season of his career.

Despite missing a few games for personal reasons, Jokic has been unreal when on the court. Through 12 games, Jokic is averaging 30.3 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 11.3 assists per game with 56.8/56.3/83.5 shooting splits.

Jokic has obviously gotten recognition from the league for his outstanding play, but rarely do we hear other All-Stars speak about his greatness.

In an appearance on The Young Man and The Three podcast, Cleveland Cavaliers star center Jarrett Allen talked about the difficulty of guarding Jokic.

"You just do the best you can," Allen said. "It's literally incredible how many passes he makes where you're like, 'Welp, like, I tried.' There's nothing I can do about it, and it's just on the guards. You gotta do better next time."

While Allen has high praise for Jokic, the All-Star big man actually tends to hold his own against the three-time NBA MVP. Through 13 matchups between the two high-level centers, Jokic is averaging 22.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, still impressive but not exactly dominant.

Allen's comments about Jokic are certainly high praise and another reason why Jokic is the clear-cut best big man in the NBA.

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