When the Denver Nuggets selected Nikola Jokic at No. 41 during a Taco Bell commercial in the 2014 NBA Draft, no one thought that Denver had drafted one of the greatest players of all time.

During LeBron James' second stint with the Cavaliers, Jokic and the Nuggets hosted James at Denver for a game, where he displayed an early glimpse of greatness.

When Joker got the ball in the corner during a possession, he bodied James, took him near the paint, and posted on him with what would become his signature floater. 

“Nah, I think that’s a mismatch for us,” Jokic stated when a reporter asked him if he would remember scoring on LeBron for a long time. 

The Nuggets star added further that he was focused on scoring for his team, but he was too focused on scoring that he didn’t care who was in front of him.

“I tried to score. I mean, I didn’t think that was him, or whatever, I just wanna score, that’s it,” Jokic said.

Joker has never been an arrogant player and always paid his respects to the basketball greats. He was confident in his game, and the Nuggets fans got to see that years later.

Jokic is the only player in NBA history to lead a team in both rebounding and assists. He is widely regarded as the best passing big man in NBA history, but the game comes pretty easily to Jokic.

“Whatever the game gives to me, if the defense does not help, I am going to shoot; if they help, I will try to pass the ball," Jokic said. "For me, it’s a pretty simple thing when you set the mindset that way.”

Jokic made the All-NBA First Team in his fourth season. Since 2021, Jokic has either won the MVP award or has been the runner-up for the award's voting.

LeBron James Recognizes Nikola Jokic’s Greatness

Jokic and the Denver Nuggets became the big roadblock for the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

The Lakers could have reached the NBA Finals in 2023, but Jokic swept them in the Conference Finals. The very next year, Denver eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs.

In the last few years, James has competed against the Nuggets' superstar and has dealt with Jokic’s greatness up close. During an appearance with Steve Nash on NBA on Prime, the Lakers star heaped praise on Jokic. 

“I think with Nikola, obviously, one of the greatest players, I think, to ever play the game,” James said. “You know, his touch around the rim, his feel for the game. You know, it’s almost kind of… You’ve got to limit the guys around him.”

Jokic has been the best player in the world for almost a decade. For the second consecutive season, he averaged a triple-double per game.

However, the Nuggets seem to have hit a roadblock themselves. Since their championship year, they have lost in the second round twice and were eliminated in the first round in the playoffs this year. 

Are you banking on Jokic to give the Nuggets a big playoff run in the near future? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Rishab Nandi