Right now, reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic is unquestionably the best player in the world. He’s on track to become only the ninth player ever to win at least three regular-season MVP awards while leading a Denver Nuggets team that just might repeat as league champions this June. But in due time, the title of “best player in the world” may well belong to the young Victor Wembanyama down the line.
On Tuesday night, we got another delightful glimpse of Jokic battling the uber-talented San Antonio Spurs rookie. And we got a terrific Jokic soundbite out of it. A win-win all around for hoops fans.
After Jokic dropped 42 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists in a 110-105 Nuggets win, he was asked about whether he told Wembanyama (23 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocks, eight assists) anything after a first-quarter dunk.
Jokic kept it real. He made a joke about a “threat” to Wembanyama before the likely Rookie of the Year … continued playing very well anyway. The comedic timing is impeccable:
Nikola Jokić was asked if he said anything to Victor Wembanyama after dunking on him.
He said he told Wemby: "If you block one more shot, I'm gonna…"
"But he blocked like four after that, so I didn't do anything about it." pic.twitter.com/dVqQ3W4lww
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) April 3, 2024
How can you not love Jokic?
He’s confident and talented enough to push back on the upstart Wembanyama mid-game while understanding the Spurs’ young talisman has the clear potential to be an all-time player. And Jokic won’t lie to himself about it either — he’ll even make us laugh about such sequences.