Soon-to-be 3-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic led his Denver Nuggets to a thrilling Game 2 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last night in the first round of the playoffs after Jamal Murray hit a buzzer-beater to cap off a 20-point comeback.
He put up another predictably and quietly dominant performance with 27 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists, and current analyst and former teammate Austin Rivers sang his praises during a media appearance today.
Rivers appeared on The Pat McAfee Show to discuss the Game 2 masterpiece, saying “Nikola Jokic is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and he’s gonna go down as that.”
"Nikola Jokic is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and he's gonna go down as that..
I played with him in Denver for two years and he's a beast" ~ @AustinRivers25 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/W4GMGbUYBB
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 23, 2024
Rivers added, “I played with him in Denver for two years and he’s a beast.”
Jokic has ascended to become the undisputed best player in the world, and his skills were fully on display late in Game 2 as he went toe-to-toe trading big plays with LeBron James.
It was the Nuggets’ tenth consecutive victory over the Lakers including last year’s sweep in the Western Conference Finals.
If the Nuggets win another title and Jokic has another MVP and a Finals MVP under his belt, he will plant himself firmly in the conversation amongst the greatest to ever do it.
His peak has reached unfathomable heights and the question now is how long he can keep it up, as at 29 years old he is showing a consistency and a dominance that none of his peers have been capable of.
Rivers was not being hyperbolic here and while he surely has some bias being a former teammate of the Joker, he isn’t wrong in saying Jokic is already one of the greatest ever.
NEXT: Stats Show How Nuggets Veteran Excels In Playoffs
