'I Did Okay': Spurs Legend Tim Duncan Recounts Matchups with Nikola Jokic
Tim Duncan has been retired for eight years, but his dominance is still talked about. The NBA's current best big man, Nikola Jokic, only ever played two games against Duncan as they only overlapped careers by one season.
Duncan entered the league as the number one overall pick in 1997 and dominated immediately. Jokic, famously drafted in the second round during a Taco Bell commercial, took a few years to acclimate into the league but has now won two MVPs and a championship, putting him in the conversation as one of the league's all-time greats.
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Duncan was always happy to share the spotlight, and the San Antonio Spurs were often labeled as "boring" thanks to his reluctance to talk trash or give the press soundbites. Jokic carries himself with the same grace that Duncan does.
It's clear that the Serbian center has some admiration for Duncan.
During an appearance on the Pat Bev Podcast, former Spur and brief Jokic-teammate Richard Jefferson shared Duncan's thoughts on Jokic.
"I was talking shit to Tim, just recently," said Jefferson. "I was like, 'Jokic would've whupped your ass,' and he goes, and this is the ultimate Tim Duncan text, he goes, 'I played him after I was me and before he was him, and I did okay.'"
In the two games, Duncan played against Jokic, the Spurs and Nuggets split them, and Duncan averaged slightly more points, but fewer rebounds.
"If you know Tim, that's the ultimate compliment to Jokic," Jefferson reiterated. Duncan is enjoying retirement but evidently enjoys watching the Nuggets, who resemble the pass-first Spurs that won the Finals in 2014.
