“Dirk, up until Joker" - Charles Barkley weighs in on NBA’s ‘greatest’ international player ever
Charles Barkley, who played 16 Hall of Fame seasons in the NBA, retired after the 2000 season. Although he never won the championship, he is unquestionably one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of basketball shoes. In his last two years in the league, he had a chance to play against Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
Since retiring after the 1999-2000 season, “Chuck” has been with TNT along with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. While working as an analyst, he saw Nowitzki eventually lead the Mavericks to the 2011 championships against LeBron James’ “Heatles.”
Like most basketball fans, Charles Barkley probably also had no idea who Nikola Jokic was when the Denver Nuggets drafted the Serbian in 2014. Almost nobody gave unassuming Jokic a second look when he eventually joined the Nuggets in 2015.
Roughly four years after Dirk Nowitzki retired and about nine years into Nikola Jokic’s career, Barkley weighed in on their greatness. When asked by NFL great Shannon Sharpe who is the greatest foreign-born player, “Sir Charles” responded:
“Dirk [Nowitzki], up until the Joker [Jokic], he was the greatest foreign player ever. … I think they gonna win this thing [NBA championship] again!”
Charles Barkley gave a shout-out to his former Rockets teammate Hakeem Olajuwon but he didn’t consider the legendary Nigerian in the same category. Sharpe agreed that Olajuwon had been playing in the US for a while before jumping into the NBA, something that can’t be said for Jokic and Nowitzki.
Barkley raved about how quietly Nikola Jokic can be impressive in piling up numbers and still get almost overlooked. Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray have been superb for the defending champs but for him, “The Joker” is still easily the franchise cornerstone.
Charles Barkley and Shannon name Sharpe Nikola Jokic as the greatest international player ever
Charles Barkley, in the interview with Shannon Sharpe, said that the greatest international player debate is “over.” Sharpe explained why he had the same conclusion as the former Phoenix Suns MVP. According to the three-time Super Bowl winner, Nikola Jokic can now do it all on offense and make it look easy doing it.
For Sharpe, Jokic’s improvement over the past few years has been staggering. He noted how Anthony Davis used to run all over the Serbian in the 2020 “Bubble Tournament” playoffs. The same thing cannot be said now as “The Joker” gives AD fits every time they meet.
Charles Barkley added that had the Denver Nuggets kept Jusuf Nurkic instead of Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets would still be searching for their first championship.