Kiz: After Denver’s dominating victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it feels as if the Heat is a prop in the championship coronation of the Nuggets. Sure, we could debate how Miami can play bigger in the paint with adjustments by coach Erik Spoelstra, or how difficult it will be for Denver to continue to keep Heat forward Jimmy Butler down. But I want to ask you geniuses to comment on a recent Twitter post comparing Nuggets center Nikola Jokic to Celtics legend Larry Bird by our old pal and former Nuggets coach George Karl. In the past week, Karl tweeted this bold prediction: “If Jokic wins a couple championships, all U Bird fans are going to need to accept Nikola > Larry … Start preparing yourself in advance.” Our little Joker is now being mentioned in the same breath as Larry Legend? Holy. Moly. I’m all for it. And I’m ready to boldly project Jokic will go down as one of the 20 greatest players in NBA history. But better than Bird? Is that crazy talk? Or is it a real possibility?
Singer: Is it possible that Jokic is a hybrid of Larry, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone? And if so, is that player better than a standalone Bird? It’s more than possible. But here’s the rub. Larry’s got three rings. Jokic appears to be closing in on his first. When assessing careers in totality, there’s a gap that needs to be closed. But if the Nuggets do what they’ve talked about privately, this year’s run won’t be an aberration. It will, instead, be the norm. In the here and now, I like thinking about Jokic vs. Dirk Nowitzki, or Jokic vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo. But since you like to push the envelope Kiz, yes, I think Jokic is a better overall player whose game should age like fine wine. Give it a few more years before he overtakes Larry Legend’s decorated career.
Keeler: At their relative ages (27)? Nah. That said, if Joker keeps this up at his current pace for another five years? Then I might bite. After their first seven seasons, per Basketball-Reference.com, Bird leads Jokic in titles (three to three-wins-away-from-one) and Finals appearances (four to one) and postseason win shares (18 to 11.6) while Joker’s got a slight edge in net regular-season win shares (94.5 to 93.6). I tell my pals watching the Nuggets for the first time these last few weeks not to think about Joker in the context of Bird, but as more of a slowed-down, bigger version of Larry Legend’s old buddy Magic Johnson. Like Magic, the offense runs through Jokic. Like Magic, the Joker’s got eyes in the back of his head. And like a young Earvin, Joker’s revolutionizing the idea of what a center can/should do. Bird’s health cratered pretty quickly after age 31. If Jokic avoids a similar fate, he’ll leave Larry Legend in the dust.
Durando: Nobody is better equipped for this prompt than someone born several years after Bird retired. So I might as well inject a little Gen Z hubris into this discussion. Yes, Nikola Jokic will rank higher than Larry Bird among the all-time greats by the time Joker chooses to ride his horse off into the Serbian sunset. The NBA is more competitive top to bottom now than it was then. Championships are more elusive in this era of super teams forming in coastal markets. So if Joker earns even two rings in Denver — he might be halfway there in a week — that will be suitable enough to compare against Bird’s three. Especially if Jokic wins Finals MVP twice, which would match Bird. It’ll take sufficient longevity and at least a third league MVP, too, but the latter is easy money.
