Embiid, Jokic developing an NBA rivalry for the ages
>> Doc Rivers has seen them, coached against them, taken elbows in the cheek bone from them.
He’s been frustrated by them, pleased by them and more often than not, won with them.
He respects them. He can be dazzled by them. But he is not going to categorize the great centers of all time, not by skill, not by stats and definitely not by recency bias or lingering nostalgia.
Rivers wanted to make that clear Saturday before another nose-to-nose staredown between two of the best centers ever to play. There would be Nikoa Jokic, the twotime reigning MVP, and Joel Embiid, who easily could have been the two-time reigning MVP. And while it was rightfully promoted as just another game — won, 126-119, by the Sixers over the Nuggets — it was also another opportunity for the NBA to add to its history. Surely, there have been other examples of alltime great centers sharing an era, a season, a series or a game. But there have not been any that have presented any more complete boxes of tools than Embiid and Jokic.
Not Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
Not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses Malone.
Not Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Not Shaquille O’Neal and Dikembe Mutombo.
“There is,” Rivers said, “no separation.”
Rivers didn’t mean that Embiid and Jokic are necessarily superior to the other great centers of other memorable eras. But they were not any worse, either. At some point, one of them might want to mix in a championship. But skill for skill, they are the two most complete big men in history.
“I think that they are different in that, in this day and time, they are asked to do more,” Rivers said. “In this guardladen, shooting league, two of the smartest players in the league are centers.
“Those two guys are both extremely high-IQ basketball players. Joker is one of the best-passing bigs ever to walk the planet. Joel can do everything. He can defend. He can score from every level and so can Joker. And that’s what makes them so special.”
Embiid outperformed Jokic Saturday, collecting 47 points and 18 rebounds. But even with the Nuggets a little wheezy at the end of a rough, three-game road trip, Jokic was entertaining, too, scoring 24 points and dazzling with his signature court vision. Nor were the two most dominating centers of their generation always matched up against each other, as the Sixers had late success with P.J. Tucker guarding Jokic.
“Such an amazing player as Jokic, it’s hard to guard him,” Embiid said. “He’s almost unguardable. But I thought
P.J. did it. He was physical. He didn’t let him catch the ball. He didn’t give him any space. He’s the reason we won the game.”
If any great centers of the past were developed in the 21st century, they would have been taught to guard five positions, to handle the ball on the break and to pick, pop, pass and contribute to the three-point attack. So any of them could have been as complete as Embiid and Jokic. But the current NBA giants were developed that way, which, in concert with their natural athletic gifts makes them the two most complete centers ever to play.
That meant the 21,255 in the Wells Fargo Center Saturday were treated to the latest in a long-running NBA series: A toorare showdown between undisputed center-spot legends.
“I think the fans and especially the media make a lot more of it than Nikola or Joel or me or Doc,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “They’re playing well. We’re playing well. It’s never about Nikola, Joel or one player versus the other. It just so happens you have the best two centers in the world who happen to be on the court at the same time.
“I’m a fan of the game, and any time you
pit two great players against each other, it’s always fun to watch.”
The Jokic-Embiid series has added oomph because, since the two are so close in skill and achievement, it seemed reasonable that each would have had one MVP award in the last two years. Instead, Jokic won both. Embiid often has written that off as disrespect, but even with his 47-point outburst, he did not settle an argument that will arise for as long as basketball is discussed.
Who was the best center of his time?
What was the best center-position rivalry of all time?
Where would Embiid and Jokic rank?
“When they’re both done, you will say, ‘Wilt, Kareem, Joker, Joel,’” Rivers said. “They will all be in the conversation. But they’re all different. When you think of it, every single one of those bigs are different from each other. Every single one of them are different players.”
All were great. But none were greater than the combined 14 feet and 564 pounds of talent that Saturday was on display.