NBA veteran explains why Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic isn’t a top 10-best ever

Despite the fact that Nikola Jokic has been putting up numbers that have never been seen before in the NBA, some former players from the league are feeling quite uncomfortable with it. One of these is Chandler Parsons, who doesn’t want fans to get ahead of themselves when ranking the Serbian star.  

Right after the Nuggets had surprisingly taken Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against Oklahoma City, the ex-NBA star shared a rather pessimistic take on the three-time MVP, despite him finishing their 121-119 win with 42 points and 22 points to his name.

“He is a one-time champion,” Parsons argued. “You get a couple more of them chips, and again, he could win MVP this year, technically. He’s not going to. But we always talk about this as probably the best statistical year and best season for a runner-up.”

As Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander await to be named this season’s best player, only legends like Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan have won more MVP awards than the Serbian center.

“Again, you’re going to go back to Kareem and the old guys back in the day that had better resumes technically. But the guy, no matter what he is, 10, 15, 20, he is one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen,” Chandler insisted.

However, if Denver beat OKC during these series, which are now tied 1-1, then the former athlete might be ready to have a discussion over where Nikola ranks in the all-time best ranks. “You go ahead and you knock off a number one seed like the Thunder, and you go and put yourself in a position to win the championship this year,” he added.

“Then I think it’s a no-doubter. There are guys like Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, there are big-time centers that have a hell of a resume,” said the former Grizzlies star, who was able to admit that Jokic is unique. “This dude is a different style of game than any of those guys. He’s a point forward center.”