Nikola Jokic is CLEARLY the best player in the NBA! - Kendrick Perkins | NBA Countdown

I don't know, friends, if we're fully appreciating what Jokic has been up to. So let's try, right? Because the reigning MVP, he's averaging 29.7 points per game. That's a higher clip than both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal's MVP seasons, right? It's also higher than any of Larry Bird's three years winning the award. And it's not just the scoring. Jokic is averaging 11.7 assists a game. Not only is that his first time in double digits, it's more than Steve Nash and Russell Westbrook in their MVP seasons. It even exceeds Magic Johnson's average when he won the award in 1990. And should we just call him Mr. Clean? Because he has been cleaning the glass, flirting with almost 14 boards a night. Right, the MVP, he's clearing in terms of rebounds, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and the round mound of the rebound himself, Charles Barkley. And all of those stats add up to ESPN bet, making Jokic the favorite to win his fourth MVP. He would be the sixth player to win the award at least four times, joining the legends of the game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, LeBron James, and Wilt Chamberlain. He is having a historic start to the season. The Nuggets are still sort of digging themselves out, though, of that slow start that they had to the season. What does that tell you, Brian? It tells me that they really, really need him. Because when he's been away from the team or off the floor, they've been a completely different team. I would say that his biggest case is this statistic that blows me away. We've only seen one guy in the modern era win four and five years. Those that blew you away? That blew me away. That was extremely impressive. We've seen one guy in the modern era win four MVPs in five years. That was LeBron. Now, there's a bunch of numbers here. I don't want you to pay attention to all of them. I'm going to make it real simple. For every hundred times the Nuggets have the ball, okay, when Jokic is on the court, they score 33 more points. I'm going to say that again. Forget about those numbers. For every hundred times they have the ball when he's on the court, they score 33 more points than when they don't have them for the hundred times on the court. That's like, Giannis, just so you know, Giannis is leading the league in scoring at 32 points a game. Right. And he has about 100 possessions in a game, give or take. It's like having an extra number one score in the league come onto the court when Jokic comes on the court. When he goes off, it's like losing Jokic and that leading score. This is compelling, okay? I thought that the bar was too high for him to win a fourth MVP this year. He's clearing that bar. He's clearly the best player in the league. He's clearly having the best season of his career. Anytime you're the best player in the league, you're supposed to be competing for a title. An organization's supposed to do the necessary things and put the pieces around you so that you have the best chance to win a title. But, do Jokic have the best pieces around him? Well, as I say this, I'm going to answer your question. If he only wins one title, it'll be a trap for how good he is. When I was a GM with Steph Curry, you are so appreciative to have a player like that. And I think Denver feels the same way about Jokic. But then there's a pressure. There's a pressure because you have this player for, you hope, at least 10 years. When I was with the Warriors, I felt like, you're lucky to have this guy. You have to win championships. Because these guys do not come along once every 40, 30, however, 50 years. They don't come along in your organization. So when you are there, you have to say, we have to do it now. Because there ain't going to be another Jokic in this league. I understand that. But they'll— —have one championship. They are now sort of in the late stage of their Giannis situation. They've used all their first-round picks. They're $75 million into the tax. They have no maneuverability to fix the team. Denver is trying to avoid being in that situation. —And here's the thing. If that happened, if I was GMA, you have—at least I did. Everybody does the job differently. I would feel like I blew it. If I had Curry for 12 years and left with one, I would feel—I would be like, you should just dump out of me. I didn't do it. —And that's the thing. If you're the front office of the Denver Nuggets, you cannot take this man for granted. Right? You should always try to improve your roster. You should always watch and see what guys around him doing. And to be honest, we've been waiting on Jamal Murray to elevate his game. Yes, he had a good game last game. But that's like one every six games. That's not going to get it. Right? Russell Westbrook, he had a triple-double. But are you really banking on Russ to have a triple-double on this team every single night to try to go win another championship? —I think this team can win a championship. But I think it's going to take them—all these guys— —It's going to take Murray. ——absolutely top of their game. —I think Murray's got to become better. —Well, Jokic, for this specific game tonight, still listed as questionable with that family matter that he continues to deal with. But let's take a look at our key matchups, brought to you by HealthCare.gov. No Luka, remember, too, for the—