Nikola Jokic has earned some serious respect from one of the best big men of all time.
During halftime of Thursday night’s Denver Nuggets-Utah Jazz game on TNT, Shaq said he was elevating Jokic to “great” status.
“I think I’m going to have to elevate his status to ‘great’ big man,” Shaq said. “Not because he has great lift or is a great scorer, but I didn’t become a great big man until I had patience. I love this guy; he doesn’t go really fast. He has patience. He’s going to run his play and he’s very very patient.
“The true definition of a great player is those that get others involved and those that make others play better … I have to elevate him to a great big man in today’s standards.”
Jokic is in his fourth season in the league and truly starting to receive widespread recognition. He was named to his first All-Star team and is even mentioned as an MVP candidate. He’s averaging 20.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.4 steals and shooting 50.3 percent from the field as well as 84.4 percent at the line. He’s been great across the board.
Considering how long it took Shaq to warm up to Dwight Howard even when Howard was the most dominant big man in the league,
