By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic has been locked in on a wild MVP mode ever since the season began. He recently demonstrated again that he’s one of the leading candidates for the award by scoring a career-high-tying 47 points against the Utah Jazz while dominating – to say the least – the “Clash of the Euro-Titans” against two-time DPOY Rudy Gobert.
According to former NBA champion and no. 2 pick Darko Milicic, this new display of strength also showed that Jokic is so superior to Gobert that if the French center gets a contract of 205 million, then the Nuggets big man has to sign for half a billion.
“We must be aware that money is the basis of NBA’s existence. If Gobert is worth that much money, then our Jokic should sign a contract for 500,000,000 dollars. That’s how much better he is than Rudy,” Milicic said to 24 Sedam.
The DPOY awards and multiple All-NBA team appearances made Gobert made eligible for the supermax, which he got by signing the largest deal (five-year, 205 million extension) for a center in the history of the NBA. Jokic is under a five-year, 148 million max contract he signed with the Nuggets in 2018 and while he was on a highway to NBA superstardom but not exactly there yet.
“For them [the NBA], marketing has always been in the first place and for the league to make it a show business as much as possible. Those numbers that are turning around today are simply unreal. Yes a lot is spent and has to come back but to give so much money to someone is totally insane,” Milicic added.
Big numbers, huge performances, excitingly unusual play, showtime exhibition of talent abundance, buckets and insane passes aside, Milicic thinks that fellow Serbian Jokic brings something unique to the NBA also his refreshingly humble approach and down-to-earth character.
“I’m very happy for him because I know that he loves basketball, he’s dedicated to it and it can be seen that he’s very different from another NBA stars,” Milicic said. “I know how important money is there [the NBA] and everything revolves around it, and Nikola enjoys basketball and it can be seen on the floor. A totally atypical basketball players for their conditions who has showed the budding stars, who people see as some aliens, that they are not.”
Like Hall of Famer Dino Radja before him, Milicic expressed his disdain for “modern-day NBA and how offense-dominant it is, describing it as unwatchable.
“I feel sick when I see that a game ends with 300 points. So what were they doing on the court? Some hate to return to defense, “camp” on offense and they really care of what . To me, it’s all a disaster. To be honest, I can’t even watch basketball like that. I am aware that the NBA wants such a game, but it loses its meaning. Run and shoot and nothing else. That’s not the point, at least when it comes to my view of basketball.”