Can Nikola Jokic become a top-5 center of all time? Analyzing the Nuggets superstar's chances
Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the NBA today. The Denver Nuggets star could eventually go down as one of the league's top-five centers of all time.
It's really hard to believe that he was a second-round pick. The Serbian big man, who was drafted by the Nuggets with the 41st overall pick in 2014, has made five All-star teams and won back-to-back NBA MVP awards (2021 and 2022). He finished second in MVP voting this season behind Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid.
Nikola Jokic is probably the greatest passing big man the NBA has ever seen. He averaged a career-high 9.8 assists this season and has produced at least 6.1 assists per game in each of the last six years.
As it stands, however, he has quite a bit to achieve if he is to break into the top 5.
Who are the five greatest centers in NBA history?
Perhaps the five greatest centers of all time are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
You can make the case for Abdul-Jabbar being the greatest player in NBA history, although most fans would give that title to Michael Jordan. The former Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers star won six championships, six regular-season Most Valuable Player awards (one more than Jordan), and two NBA Finals MVPs.
Abdul-Jabbar was the NBA's career scoring leader from 1984 until this season when LeBron James broke his record.
Bill Russell is the epitome of a winner. Playing his entire career with the Boston Celtics, he led the franchise to an incredible 11 NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959-1966.
Wilt Chamberlain put up numbers that we'll never see again like his 50.4 points, 25.7 rebounds per game 1961-62 season. Speaking of that season, he delivered an insane 100-point performance, which will likely never be surpassed.
O'Neal is maybe the most dominant center of all time and Olajuwon's famous "Dream Shake" made him one of the league's most unstoppable players back in the day.
What does Nikola Jokic have to do to surpass one of these legends?
Nikola Jokic has been amazing in this year's playoffs. He averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per game against the Phoenix Suns during the Western Conference Semifinals.
With that stat line, he became only the third player to ever average a 30-point triple-double in a single series, joining LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
Only 3 players in NBA history have averaged a 30+ point triple-double in a Playoff series.
LeBron James – 2017 NBA Finals
33.6 PTS, 12 REB, 10 AST
Russell Westbrook – 2017 WC First Round
37.4 PTS, 11.6 REB, 10.8 AST
Nikola Jokic – 2023 WC Semifinals
34.5 PTS, 13.2 REB, 10.3… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/8Ly8lkbu2W
If Nikola Jokic wants to be considered a top-five center in NBA history one day, he has quite a bit to accomplish.
Abdul-Jabbar, Russell, Chamberlain, O'Neal, and Olajuwon each won at least two championships during their Hall of Fame careers. Jokic will have to win two rings as well to be mentioned in the same sentence as those five legends.
"The Joker" and the Nuggets are currently two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals. They own a 2-0 lead over the Lakers in the Western Conference Final so he has a realistic chance of picking up his first championship ring.
Nikola Jokic is 28 years old right now, meaning he might have another 10 seasons left to go. We'll see if he can find a way to slip into the top-five center list, although such a feat would be extremely difficult.