Bruce Brown explains what sets Nikola Jokic apart from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving -"K and Ky can shoot over 2 people and score"
Bruce Brown spent last season playing with Nikola Jokic in Denver after his two-year stint with the Brooklyn Nets alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Brown has a clear understanding of what makes their greatness different.
Here’s what the current Indiana Pacers guard had to say on the Tidal League podcast about the difference between the said superstars:
“Playing with Ky [Irving], James [Harden] and K [Durant] is very different playing with Nikola [Jokic]. ... I feel like Nikola’s too unselfish. He gonna make the right play every single time.”
He added:
"K and Ky can shoot over 2 people and score. Nikola not going to do that. He gonna pass it and believe that you gonna make that shot every single time.
The Brooklyn Nets didn’t reach the kind of success most basketball experts the trio of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant would accomplish. Together, they won only one playoff series when they beat the short-handed Boston Celtics in 2021.
Bruce Brown, however, won the biggest prize in the NBA in his single season with the Denver Nuggets. Led by Nikola Jokic, a two-time MVP, and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in this year’s finals for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Brown played a big part in the Nuggets' success with his energy, hustle and defense off the bench. The unheralded shooting guard also hit several big shots during their championship run. A few of those crucial baskets were due to “The Joker:”
“There’s multiple times this year I’ve taken game-winning shots off his pass and he’s supposed to shoot it.”
Bruce Brown later changed it to game-changing and game-sealing shots instead of game-winners. But the point is the same. Nikola Jokic never hesitates to make the right plays.
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets could defend the champoinship without Bruce Brown
After this year’s superb performance in the playoffs, Bruce Brown was going to get paid. He signed a two-year 45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers as an unrestricted free agent.
Without him, the Denver Nuggets figure to be just fine. As long as Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are healthy, the defending champs will have a chance.
Kyrie Irving is now with the Dallas Mavericks. They’re looking to return to the playoffs next year. Kevin Durant also has some unfinished business with the Phoenix Suns after they were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets.
Brown’s former Brooklyn Nets teammates could go down yet again in the postseason after a battle with Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets.
Also read: "He was done"- Bruce Brown, who signed a $45,000,000 Pacers contract after Nuggets' championship, says LeBron James ran out of steam vs Denver