Former Celtics Star Snubs Nikola Jokic in NBA All-Time Rankings

A former Boston Celtics starter on some deep playoff squads issued some critical words regarding where Denver Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic ranks among the all-time greats.

During a recent appearance on ESPN's "First Take" alongside regulars Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins, ex-Celtics starting combo forward Marcus Morris suggested that the seven-time All-Star big man did not deserve to be ranked among the top 20 players in NBA history — yet.

.@KendrickPerkins and @stephenasmith disagree with Marcus Morris whether Nikola Jokic is already a top-20 player of all-time 👀 pic.twitter.com/39yL3m3Oeg
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 3, 2025

“I wasn't really counting his three MVPs, but I’m still not gonna say he’s top 20 right now," Morris claimed. "His body of work is definitely impressive. The game has changed completely since Jokic’s been in the game (but) I don’t see top 20, and that’s no knock to him because what he’s doing is special."

Morris went on to qualify his remarks, explaining that he still reveres the play of Jokic and believes he's a Hall of Fame superstar talent. Cracking the top 20, after all, is heady terrain.

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"He's transcended the game — the way he can pass and the way he can control the game. How hard it is to guard him on the post. But top 20 right now? No," Morris said. "I don’t even wanna say this, but if he stopped playing today, would we say that the Joker was a top 20 player in the NBA? I don’t agree. He wouldn’t be top 20."

Surprisingly, Smith conceded that a lot of Jokic's NBA contemporaries might privately agree with this take, before Smith noted that he, himself, would actually rank Jokic among the NBA's all-time top 20.

"You talk to cats around the league and they're saying this stuff," Smith said. "But let me say this to you: I disagree with you because I think that, at some point in time, we can't ignore the numbers. So let me throw them out at you, because I've got a few of them. So this year he's averaging damn near 30, 13, and 10. That's No. 1. Career-high 31 triple-doubles this year. That's a first, right?"

In 67 contests for Denver this season, Jokic has been averaging 30.0 points on .577/.415/.803 shooting splits, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.2 assists a night. If he finishes with a triple-double season average, he'll be just the third player ever to accomplish that feat, joining current Denver teammate Russell Westbrook and Hall of Fame point guard Oscar Robertson.

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"There are players with four or more NBA MVPs: Kareem with six, Jordan with five, Bill Russell with five, LeBron James and Wilt [Chamberlain] with four," Smith said.

Jokic has earned three MVP awards in the last four seasons, and is considered one of the two favorites to nab that hardware this season, alongside All-NBA First Team Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The 6-foot-11 big man has been on fire throughout the year, although Denver is in jeopardy of falling into the play-in tournament. Without point guard Jamal Murray — who's been shelved with a hamstring injury since a 127-117 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 26 — Denver has gone just 1-4 across its last five games.

Despite the loss, Nikola Jokić put on another spectacular performance!

41 PTS
15 REB
13 AST pic.twitter.com/79f40AgGFY
— NBA (@NBA) April 7, 2025

At 47-32, the Nuggets currently occupy the Western Conference's No. 4 seed, just 0.5 games ahead of the 46-32 L.A. Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies — the West's Nos. 5-8 seeds. Denver could easily fall into the play-in tournament before all is said and done.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 64-14 Thunder tower above the competition as the conference's No. 1 seed.

During a 13-year NBA career, Morris was a key contributor to the Celtics in 2017-18 and 2018-19. He averaged 13.8 points while slashing .439/.372/.826, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.6 steals a night during his regular season appearances with Boston.

That 2018 club fell in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the 2019 iteration lost in the Semifinals to the Milwaukee Bucks.

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