NBA Analyst Reacts to Backlash Over Nikola Jokic Comments

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NBA analyst Nick Wright has been one of Nikola Jokic's more vocal critics over the last several years, and has been receiving a lot of backlash over his old takes that did not age well with Jokic and the Denver Nuggets winning the title. During a recent podcast episode, Wright reacted to some of this backlash.
"I can throw flowers at Nikola Jokic without really having been wrong," Wright said. "What I wanted is what we have demanded of every all-time great, which Jokic now is. Show it to me on a deep playoff run. And the fact that folks were so upset that he was held to literally the same standard that every other all-time great was held to, I find laughable."
Wright also addressed his brutal take about Jokic being the worst MVP since Dave Cowens:
"Now, my initial assertion three years ago that he was the worst MVP since Dave Cowens? Yeah, that was wrong," Wright said. "Was my frustration that he was going to win a second straight MVP when his team was a six-seed, was that wrong? No, I don’t think it was. Was the skepticism that he would be able to do it over four rounds, was that well-founded? Maybe. Did he prove he could? Unequivocally."
While these takes aged horribly, Wright believes most of them were fair at the time, even if they ended up being wrong.
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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.