One rival big is weighing in on the great center debate of the 2020s.
Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner appeared this week on Gilbert Arenas’ show “Gil’s Arena.” During one segment, Turner touched on the differences between defending Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Philly’s Joel Embiid, the two top centers in the NBA today.
“When Jokic goes out there, he’s really painting himself on that canvas,” said Turner. “He’s doing [everything]. He’s getting people involved. He does not have to score to actually have an emphasis on that game. He can literally just go out there and piss you off.
“Embiid, I have a fighting chance of actually being able to guard him one-on-one,” Turner went on. “As well as he might get you in foul trouble, you’re gonna get a couple of stops here and there … Embiid, you can control a little bit more. Jokic, it’s like there’s stuff that’s out of your control.”
You can see the full clip below (but beware of the bad language).
“When Jokic goes out there, it’s like he’s painting himself on that canvas… Embiid you can control a little more, Jokic it’s like there’s stuff that’s out of your control.”
Myles Turner on the difference between Embiid and Jokic 🖌️
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/3Rj2GG26Po
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 15, 2023
Embiid, 29, and Jokic, 28, have finished 1-2 in MVP voting each of the last three years running (with Jokic coming out on top in 2021 and 2022 before Embiid took home the hardware this season). But as Turner hinted at, their respective games could not be any more different.
The 76ers star Embiid is a power big who can dunk your arm right through the hoop but also pepper in some buttery shots off the dribble, either with his back to the basket or facing up. Jokic doesn’t play with pure force but rather with an artfulness to the game, always going at his own pace and guiding the ball with velvet-soft touch (either into the net or to an open teammate).
Turner’s take makes perfect sense. There a lot more coverages that you can throw at a player like Embiid (sending a second body at him, shrinking the paint, helping off the weakside corner, etc.) than a guy like Jokic. If you try that same strategy on Jokic, he can just make the read and spray it out to an open shooter. All of a sudden, you find yourself giving up a three instead of a two. Trying to defend Jokic one-on-one isn’t much better of an option either since he is also one of the toughest and most efficient shot-makers in the league (to make things even more unfair).
Embiid is a magnificent player with a very deep bag of his own. But there is a reason why he has never made it out of the second round while Jokic is the reigning Finals MVP. While the debate over the two centers got mucked up this year by a race narrative, all available evidence (including anecdotes like this one from Turner) points to Jokic having the clear advantage right now.
