Nikola Jokic is finally an NBA champion and Finals MVP, adding to his impressive resume that already includes two regular season MVP awards, five All-Star Teams, and five All-NBA Team appearances. The Denver Nuggets were the best team all year long, starting in the regular season, and there are high hopes that the team will be a dynasty. Head coach Mike Malone is elite, and so is the entire roster, but there is no doubt that Jokic’s Finals performances proved who the driving force of the team is.
The Joker has a very unique s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set that has not been seen by any other big man ever, and he is on a path of his own in terms of being a point-center who is extremely unselfish and hates the spotlight. Beyond being an elite basketball player with a very high basketball IQ, he defers praise to his teammates and is the most “normal” superstar we might have ever seen alongside Tim Duncan. With his accolades looking better with an NBA title and Finals MVP award, where does Jokic rank among the all-time greatest players?
While it is still very soon to look back at Jokic’s career since he is 28 years old and only completed seven years in the league so far, he is on a path to having an all-time great career. In fact, he is already one of the most impactful stars ever, and we have to see where he stands among the greatest players ever as of right now. By looking at Fadeawayworld’s ranking of the top-75 players of all time, it is time to see where the superstar Serbian ranks right now because his accolades have been adding up in recent years.
Nikola Jokic Is Still Not A Top-15 Player Of All Time
Nikola Jokic is the best big man in the game and actually the best player in the world, considering his dominance in the playoffs, but he is still nowhere near being a top-15 player of all time when looking at the superstar names that occupy that esteemed ranking.
15 Greatest NBA Players Of All Time:
1. Michael Jordan
2. LeBron James
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Magic Johnson
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Bill Russell
7. Larry Bird
8. Shaquille O’Neal
9. Tim Duncan
10. Wilt Chamberlain
11. Hakeem Olajuwon
12. Kevin Durant
13. Stephen Curry
14. Oscar Robertson
15. Jerry West
Nikola Jokic has only completed seven seasons in the NBA, making five All-Star and five All-NBA Teams, so there is still much left to do to compare to the esteemed list of the top-15. The top-5 is clearly beyond reach because each of them has at least four NBA titles and two Finals MVP awards, along with far more than five All-Star appearances. Even in terms of s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set, Jokic is too much of an inconsistent one-on-one defender to be placed in the same breath as them as well.
Regarding the next five players, Jokic does not have at least three NBA titles to compare to them, and longevity is a massive factor in how far the Serbian is right now. There is no way Jokic is an all-time greater big man than Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Wilt Chamberlain for obvious reasons that include championships, impact, and longevity. Wilt Chamberlain sits at 10th, and he once scored 100 points in a single game along with having four MVPs, 13 All-Star appearances, seven scoring titles, and 11 rebounding titles.
Regarding the rest of the top-15, each of the players had extremely long careers, and Jokic must add at least five more seasons of dominance before his resume stacks up in terms of All-Star, All-NBA, and career statistics. There is no doubt that Jokic is far off from the top-15 list, and there is nothing wrong with that since the Serbian is still only 28 years old.
He Is Close, But Not Yet 25 Greatest Player Of All Time
It is clear that Jokic is far off from being a top-15 player of all time, but can he crack the top-25? The answer has to be no again because he has only completed seven seasons and the players ahead of him are simply superstar-level and were for a very long time.
16-25 Greatest NBA Players Of All Time:
16. Karl Malone
17. Moses Malone
18. Dwyane Wade
19. Kevin Garnett
20. Julius Erving
21. Dirk Nowitzki
22. Elgin Baylor
23. David Robinson
24. Giannis Antetokounmpo
25. Allen Iverson
Nikola Jokic is not far off from being a top-25 player of all time, even if he isn’t there yet. Karl Malone is the third-leading all-time scorer with a total of 36,928 career points, which is an incredible achievement that Jokic will never come close to. Not to mention, The Mailman went to two NBA Finals appearances, won two MVPs, two All-Star Game MVPs, and made 14 All-Star and 14 All-NBA appearances. Jokic needs to play at least 15 seasons to be able to compare to Karl Malone.
Moses Malone also completed two decades in professional basketball, including two seasons in the ABA, making 12 All-Star appearances in the NBA alone to go along with three MVP awards while winning an NBA title and a Finals MVP award. Malone is considered the greatest offensive rebounder ever, and eight All-NBA appearances to go along with six rebounding titles means longevity is Moses’ forte.
Dwyane Wade was another elite player who was simply better than Jokic. He did not have the size nor the passing ability of Jokic, but he was an elite scorer and defensive stopper who managed to win three NBA titles, a Finals MVP award, a scoring title, and 13 All-Star appearances. Again, Wade’s legacy transcends the city of Miami because he played 16 seasons while having a career stat line of 22.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 5.4 APG.
What Kevin Garnett did over his career was extraordinary, as he was a far better defensive player and intimidator than Jokic. The Big Ticket made a whopping 15 All-Star selections, 12 All-Defensive Teams, and nine All-NBA Teams. Garnett also captured Defensive Player of the Year, something Jokic will never acquire, and led the NBA in rebounds four times. Of course, Garnett also won an NBA title in 2008 with the Boston Celtics.
Dr. J is clearly a better player than Jokic as well, having completed 11 seasons in the NBA and five more in the ABA. Erving is one of the greatest athletes of all time, making 11 straight All-Star appearances in the NBA and 16 straight, including the ABA. There haven’t been more graceful players than Erving, and that is a description that clearly does not apply to the Serbian superstar.
Nikola Jokic has a long way to go to equal Dirk Nowitzki’s Hall of Fame resume. Dirk made 14 All-Star Teams and 12 All-NBA Teams to go along with an NBA title, Finals MVP, and regular-season MVP trophies. Jokic has equaled the NBA trophies and exceeded the MVP trophies, but he has not lasted long enough in the NBA to compare. Dirk is ranked 6th all-time in points scored, and his consistency year after year places him among the top 20 players ever.
Superstar forward Elgin Baylor is one of the greatest Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers players ever, and that alone proves how dominant he was during the 1960s. Baylor made an incredible 11 All-Star appearances, 10 All-NBA appearances and won Rookie of the Year. The forward is ranked 3rd all-time in career PPG, 27.4 PPG, and he is one of the greatest rebounders ever as well. Jokic has a long way to go to compare to Baylor in terms of offensive dominance.
David Robinson has to be another center who is better than Nikola Jokic because his accolades and two-way dominance are truly exceptional. The Admiral won two NBA titles, made 10 All-Star Teams, 10 All-NBA Teams, and 8 All-Defensive Teams. Robinson also won an MVP award, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and won Rookie of the Year. These achievements look good when remembering Robinson’s dominant two-way play, and Jokic can’t compare to him right now.
Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the best player in the world over the past few seasons and won an NBA title, Finals MVP, and back-to-back MVP awards before Jokic did. The Greek Freak is also a far better defender and rebounder, and while he can’t shoot, his ability to dominate games through athleticism is truly extraordinary. Jokic has to improve defensively before being compared to Giannis.
Finally, Allen Iverson has to be considered a greater player than Jokic. As great as Jokic is, there is no way he could have led the 2000-01 76ers to the Finals as Iverson did. If The Answer would have had the likes of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, and Aaron Gordon beside him, it is likely the guard would have made more than one Finals appearance. Regardless, Iverson won an MVP award, Rookie of the Year, and four scoring titles to go along with 11 All-Star Teams and seven All-NBA Team appearances.
Nikola Jokic Ranks Between The 26th-30th Greatest Players Of All Time
Nikola Jokic has yet to crack the top-25 players on the all-time list, but he has a strong argument for being in the top 30 already. That is an extraordinary achievement for a player who only competed in seven NBA seasons, but that is simply the truth at this moment.
26-30 Greatest NBA Players Of All Time:
26. Charles Barkley
27. John Havlicek
28. Isiah Thomas
29. Scottie Pippen
30. Nikola Jokic
31. Kawhi Leonard
The case can be made that Nikola Jokic is among the top 30. Where he falls exactly in this order depends on the arguments you make for each other, and it is time to go through each one for fairness’ sake.
Is Nikola Jokic better than Charles Barkley? Barkley played 16 years in the NBA, and while he never won an NBA title, he made the Finals in 1993 in a losing effort to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, which is no knock against him. Barkley won the MVP award that year and made a total of 11 All-Star and 11 All-NBA selections. The Hall of Famer was a better rebounder than Jokic, but he could not score or pass like him. The argument to be made for Barkley is the fact that he has more than double the All-Star and All-NBA Teams, so Jokic needs to wait at least five or six seasons to add to his All-Star resume.
The same arguments go for John Havlicek. The superstar Boston Celtics star completed 16 years in the league, making 13 All-Star appearances, 11 All-NBA appearances, 8 All-Defensive Team appearances, and winning eight NBA titles. Jokic won’t come close to Hondo’s number of championships or All-Defensive selections, so he might have to pass him in Finals MVP awards. Considering Havlicek’s accolades are simply extraordinary, Jokic needs to win a second Finals MVP award to truly be in the argument for surpassing him, along with four or five more All-Star appearances.
Isiah Thomas won back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, capturing the Finals MVP award in 1990. One of the greatest point guards ever, Isiah Thomas, was a leader and competitor that was deeply motivated to destroy the opposition. Jokic is not built from the same cloth as he is truly a loveable person, but the big Serbian needs a second NBA title to be on the same level or possibly surpass the legendary Detroit Pistons point guard. Thomas’ championships are weighted very heavily considering the competition during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Scottie Pippen won six NBA titles, an extraordinary number of achievements, even if he was the sidekick to Michael Jordan. Jordan needed Pippen to win his six titles, make no mistake about that, and that is why the superstar wing player is regarded as a top-30 player of all time. Pippen also made seven All-Star Teams and 10 All-Defensive Teams, meaning Jokic won’t come close to the defensive accolades. However, if Jokic can surpass Pippen in All-Star appearances over the next few seasons, he could take Pippen’s place.
The same goes for Kawhi Leonard, who is an elite defensive player with two Defensive Player of the Year awards. Leonard also has two NBA titles and two Finals MVP awards, extraordinary achievements. However, Jokic does have back-to-back MVP trophies and better career statistics, so that could be an argument for the Serbian over The Claw. Considering how much time Leonard misses due to “injuries”, Jokic has to be considered the better and more consistent player.
As a result, a strong argument can be made that Nikola Jokic is the 30th-best player in NBA history right now, knocking off Kawhi Leonard. Jokic needs to complete at least four or five more seasons to earn enough All-Star Teams to surpass the rest of the 26-29 list, although a second championship and Finals MVP would catapult him even higher.
A Second NBA Championship Could Catapult Joker Into The Top 20
Overall, Nikola Jokic might be considered a top-30 player of all time at this moment. He is also ranked behind a host of superstar centers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, and David Robinson, which means Jokic could be in 8th place ahead of other elite centers including Patrick Ewing, Willis Reed, Bill Walton, and Wes Unseld among others.
Jokic’s consistency over the past five seasons has been extraordinary, as he is the best passing big man of all time. He is a better player than Kawhi Leonard because the Claw cannot be trusted to stay healthy and has not had much success since the 2018-19 NBA season. That means a strong argument can be made that Jokic is the 30th-best player in the world. However, a second NBA title and Finals MVP trophy would place Jokic as a top-20 player of all time, as he would have earned more All-Star and All-NBA appearances while being a two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP. Allen Iverson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, and Dirk Nowitzki would not be able to compare to Nikola’s number of titles and Finals MVP trophies.
It is absolutely critical that the Denver Nuggets superstar wins another championship and Finals MVP award because jumping another 10 spots on the all-time list would be an extremely impressive feat. We have never seen a player like Jokic before in terms of basketball IQ, playmaking, and unselfishness, so he deserves to be mentioned among the pantheon greats. There is a very legitimate chance that Jokic finishes as a top-20 player of all time with a second NBA championship, but as of right now, he is a top-30 player ever in terms of accolades, impact, and playing style.
