Former NBA Star Destroys Narrative About Nikola Jokic's Playoff Run

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Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic had a historically great playoff run that ended in a championship and Finals MVP award. Breaking countless records throughout his run, Jokic is somehow still being discredited by those who believe Denver had an easy path to the title. During a recent podcast episode, former NBA star JJ Redick destroyed this narrative.
"Not willing to put it as an all-time great run is just the most asinine statement when regardless of what he followed up with," Redick said. "It's the most asinine statement, because Jokic was like, the first to do this, the second most ever. Come on, man. What are we doing? All-time run."
On the idea that Denver's run was easy because they didn't have to face teams like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and others, Redick said, "Guess what? Those teams weren't good enough, two of them lost to the Heat, and one of them couldn't get past the Celtics and couldn't close them out. The teams weren't good enough. How is that a knock on Jokic? It's ridiculous."
Redick also pointed out the ridiculous narrative about the seeds Denver faced, because the 1st seed always faces the 8th seed, then they face the winner of the 4-5 matchup - which in this case was the 4th seed Suns, and then Denver faced a 7th seed Lakers team that was one of the best teams in the NBA post-trade deadline.
People have gone to great lengths to discredit Jokic and the Nuggets, but Redick isn't having it.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.