Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

Lakers legend on Nikola Jokic: 'Combination of Magic and Kareem'

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/21/24

What happens if you combine the skillsets of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson? You get Nikola Jokic, the reigning NBA Finals MVP and consensus best player in the world. That's the opinion of James Worthy, who won three championships playing alongside Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson in a Lakers uniform.

That's incredibly high praise when you consider the resumes of Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, two players who feature in most people's Mount Rushmore of basketball greats.

Worthy's comments came after he was awestruck by Jokic's greatness during Game 1 of the West playoffs. Jokic's tally of 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists propelled the Nuggets to a 114-103 win as the defending champions took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Nikola Jokic guided the Denver Nuggets to a win over the Lakers (1-0).

32 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST & 2 STL

pic.twitter.com/HUtGkZsuCJ
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) April 21, 2024

After the game, Worthy explained why Jokic reminds him of his two iconic teammates.

"To me, he's Magic and Kareem on the floor at the same time," Worthy told Spectrum SportsNet. "He's a guard — he makes great decisions, a hell of a passer — and then when he wants to be Kareem, he goes down [to the post] and dominates. He's a special player who does a lot of things, and your antennas have to up [as a defense]. You can't have any lapses."

To Worthy's point, Jokic's skills on the low block — an underrated part of his game — were on full display Sunday as he toyed with the Lakers' defense with his deft touches, soft hooks and floaters. The Serb made 14 of his 15 baskets in the paint area, attempting only two threes, proving again why he's a throwback player in an era where even 7-footers rely heavily on the three-point shot.

The Nuggets scored 64 of their 114 points in the paint as a team. This series could be over quickly unless the Lakers can slow down Jokic in the paint.

Game 2 tips off at 10 p.m. ET on Monday. The series will shift to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday.

Reminder that Nikola Jokic is statistically maybe the greatest per-minute playoff performer in NBA history pic.twitter.com/YvvAksG5ul
— Zach Kram (@zachkram) April 21, 2024