By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Gregg Popovich sang a tune of praise for Nikola Jokic after the latter’s performance in Wednesday’s (5/8) Denver Nuggets win over the San Antonio Spurs.
“Jokic is like… a reincarnation of Larry Bird. He does everything. He’s amazing,” Popovich said in a zoom call following the game. The winningest coach in the history of the NBA had just seen Jokic score 25 points, including 3/5 triples, and dish out 11 assists against his team.
After lauding Jokic’s all-around talents by describing him as the second coming of Larry Bird, Popovich went on to talk specifically about the Serbian big man’s aptitude for collecting rebounds, comparing it to another NBA legend of old.
“He’s stepping out making threes. He’s rebounding the ball. This should be an NBA rule: You can’t tap it to yourself. He’s a Moses Malone,” Popovich added. “He’s down there and he jumps a quarter of an inch and then he taps it two or three times, then he gets it in, he lays it back in. It’s not just luck. He does it all the time.”
“So he’s great on the board. He’s obviously maybe the best big man passer in the league, if not close to it. He’s a pretty special player,” Popovich concluded.
Jokic has been averaging 20.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 32.4 minutes this season.
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