“This m**********r could be a star in the league” – Will Barton talks about his early impressions of Nikola Jokic, believes he’s around the top 5 NBA players
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was praised by teammate Will Barton on the “Hoops, Adjacent” podcast.
A snippet of the podcast focusing on Barton’s comments on Jokic was posted to The Atlantic’s twitter page Wednesday.
"I think he's right there in that category where you can't mention five players and not mention Joke."
@WillTheThrillB5 talked about Nikola Jokic's evolution as a player with @davidaldridgedc & @thompsonscribe on the "Hoops, Adjacent" podcast. https://t.co/L7X4Vyu56O
Will Barton on Nikola Jokic's growth in becoming an All-Star
In the video, Will Barton, who is in his 10th season in the league, talked about some of his earlier times seeing Nikola Jokic play, and where he thought he was going to end up.
“From the first game, just seeing him, you know I think he had close to a triple-double," Barton said. "And I was like ‘Damn, he might be alright.’ And he kept doing it game after game after game, and I was like, ‘This m**********r could be a star in the league.'”
Will Barton was selected with the 40th pick of the 2012 draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, where he stayed until 2015. During the 2015 season, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic, "The Joker," also joined the Nuggets in 2015, although he was selected in the second round of the 2014 draft. Jokic stayed in the Adriatic League to play basketball in Serbia. After averaging 18.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in 14 games, he parted ways with the team to pursue his NBA career.
Jokic then quickly became one of Denver's leaders during the 2014-15 season. He was voted on the All-Rookie first team in 2016. Jokic ranks among the top 10 all-time list of NBA players with the most triple-doubles, just seven years into his career. He is the leading European player and also holds the fastest triple-double record (achieving it in 14 minutes and 33 seconds).
Jokic was named last season's MVP.
Since Barton’s early looks at Jokic, Jokic has averaged a double-double in four of his seven seasons. Both players started their tenures for Denver at the same time and as such, Barton has seen Jokic's growth firsthand.
With averaging a career double-double at 19 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game, NBA audiences everywhere can attest to his growing dominance. But having Barton explain that he has seen the greatness in Jokic since his early days adds weight to the growing legend emerging in Denver.
“The Joker” led the Nuggets to the Western Conference semifinals in 2018-19, giving him his first All-Star and All-NBA first team selections. He has continued to grow across his entirety into the star he is today, so Barton’s estimation about his fellow teammate's success from early on proved accurate.
Barton said:
“He could be, you know, the best player in the league.”
Jokic has been a dominant star for Denver, and he has been awarded All-Star status the past three seasons, so Barton is 2-for-2 so far. Will he be right with his estimate on Jokic gaining “best player in the league” status?
Denver (22-20) stands sixth in the Western Conference. The Nuggets next host the LA Clippers on Wednesday night – another opportunity for “The Joker” to etch his name deeper into the conversation of the best to ever do it.