Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, owner of the Panathinaikos Basketball Club has attempted to lure Nikola Jokić away from the NBA.
Jokić will become eligible to sign a five-year, $359.5 million extension with the Denver Nuggets in July 2027, which would be the largest contract in league history.
It’s highly unlikely Jokić would leave the biggest basketball league in the world to head over to Greece, especially with a huge contract in his sights. However, suppose he did, Jokić would be just 32 years old at the time he decided to head overseas.
With a ton of NBA accolades already in his possession, where does Jokić rank among the greats, and is there room for him to move up? Let’s take a look.
Jokić won three MVP awards before he blew out the candles for his 30th birthday and helped the Nuggets win their first championship in 2023, earning Finals MVP.
Along the way, he developed into the best playmaking big man of all time and most efficient shooters you’ll ever see, especially near the rim and midrange area.
Jokić has smooth footwork and a spinmove that helps him break free from defenders of all sizes with a soft touch to boot.
His shooting touch also helps him shoot over the top of defenders in the midrange area and dial it in from downtown, which also clears up driving and cutting lanes for his teammates to exploit.
Simply put, Jokić’s elite court vision and jaw-dropping shooting splits make him one of the most unique players ever, as a lot of big men who are coming after him will be sure to study all of the traits that made The Joker great.
Jokić earned all three of his MVP awards since 2021. In the years he didn’t win, he came right in second.
Is that enough to put him top 10 all time even if he walked away after next season? Probably not, as all of the players listed ahead of him have had considerably more playoff success and were much more effective on defense.
However, he can safely be put in the top 20, which is already an incredible honor in itself since he’s still firmly in the prime of his career and still has a game that ages fairly well.
Jokić will probably need to win at least two more championships to crack the top 10 debate. Time will tell if that happens in Denver.
