NBA Champion Reveals How to Stop Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic is a problem.

Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Nikola Jokc is arguably the most unstoppable player in the NBA. Regardless of who is defending him, there doesn't seem to be a way to actually stop him, besides hoping he misses. One two-time NBA Champion believes he may have a solution.

Rajon Rondo was a guest on the All the Smoke podcast where he discussed the difficulty of guarding Nikola Jokic and a potential way to stop the Finals MVP.

"First of all, you have to have the personnel," Rondo said. "I think the last team who slowed him down was us in the bubble. We had Dwight, Javale, and AD - we had three seven-footers that we can throw at him. I think the closest team - is KAT healthy? I think the team that has the best shot is the two-footers Minnesota can throw at him. If I was a West Coast team, my two bigs would probably be watching Joker the entire year. I'm prepping that way. I'm studying knowledge tendencies, when he draws fouls, when he becomes dominant."

While what Rondo says makes sense, his Lakers were facing a Jokic that hadn't even won an MVP yet. The Lakers and Anthony Davis had their chance at a rematch three years later, and they got swept by a dominant Jokic performance. To Rondo, the biggest thing is making Jokic work on both sides of the floor.

"You want him to play both sides," Rondo said. "Put him in pick-and-roll, put him in pin-downs. If that big isn't a great scorer, put him in a lot of pin-downs. Force him to switch, if not, attack him."

During last year's Western Conference Finals against the Lakers, Nikola Jokic averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 11.8 assists. He was unstoppable last season, and it remains to be seen if anyone can stop him this season.

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