As two all-time greats, Nikola Jokić and LeBron James have a tremendous amount of respect for one another.
It’s why James accepted the reality about the reigning champion Denver Nuggets’ sheer dominance when they’re in top form after Saturday night’s convincing win for Denver. It’s also why Jokić’s running mate, Jamal Murray, expressed that the Nuggets take every game with the Lakers so seriously as to spoil their celebrations — they genuinely respect their place in the sport of basketball.
Jokić is also self-aware enough to understand when history is inevitable.
Before the Lakers’ game with the Nuggets, James needed just nine points to become the first-ever NBA player to reach 40,000. Barring something absolutely wild, the icon who still scores over 25 points a game at age 39 was a lock to make history with the Nuggets in attendance.
So, with James mic’d up for his historic individual night for the record books, Jokić was caught teasing his peer about how Denver would keep him at eight points. That understandably got a hearty laugh from James:
“We gotta stop you.”
– Jokic to LeBron. 😂
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 3, 2024
The “Joker” is the best player in the world. It’s gravy that he’s probably also the funniest, and he can get legends like James to laugh like this.
