It is a pointless exercise.
Comparing players from different eras, saying who would and wouldn’t be able to play today versus back then, it’s a never-ending circle that adds little value to the coverage of the NBA.
However, there’s a reason it’s debated and argued daily.
People are interested in it.
And in last night’s matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets, head coach Steve Kerr added his perspective about a specific player when it comes to ‘best-ever’ status.
The Warriors coach didn’t mince his words when talking about Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic, before Golden State got the 118-104 victory.
“It’s unfair to compare eras, but he’s the best center I’ve ever seen,” Kerr told the media.
“I played against Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]… Kareem couldn’t do all this stuff.
“And again, eras dictate a lot of that, so we’re in the modern era and we are watching a guy doing things that nobody has ever done before.
“It goes so far beyond the skill level with Jokic, it’s the demeanor, it’s the competitiveness, it’s the intelligence.
“He is absolutely one of the smartest players ever, and you see it in so many different ways.”
Kerr not only played against Abdul-Jabbar, who by all accounts is the greatest center of all-time, but he also battled with Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon, as well as playing with Tim Duncan (if you want to shoehorn him into the center position).
The man with a combined nine NBA championships as a player and coach knows a thing or two about ball, so when he comes out with a definitive statement like that, it’s important.
Everyone should listen.
He did preface it with the fact that he doesn’t like comparing eras, but nonetheless he said what he said.
And according to Kerr, the best center that has ever picked up a basketball is the three-time regular season MVP and one-time NBA champion that calls Serbia home.
It is a two-man race for this season’s MVP, between Jokic and Oklahoma City Thunder‘s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
SGA is the betting favorite with the historic season he has had, but Jokic has more than a case to win his fourth such award.
On the season, Jokic is averaging 29.9 points (third), 12.8 rebounds (third) and 10.2 assists (second), while shooting 57.8% from the field (eighth).
In other words, it is another all-worldly season out of #15 from Denver, but even this year has transcended him into a whole other level.
If the numbers hold, Jokic will become the first center ever, to average a triple-double.
The Nuggets are currently 47-31, good for fourth in the Western Conference, with four games left.
It’s going to be a race to finish, as the seeding in the West is separated by razor-thin margins.
But if Jokic keeps playing on a historic level, Denver will be just fine.
