LeBron James spoke in superlatives about Nikola Jokic’s performances and the results of the Denver Nuggets in a podcast with J.J. Redick.
The popular “King” characterized the superstar of the Colorado team as one of the smartest players in the history of basketball.
“The best four teams are those with the best players and the best coaches. What will differentiate them is basketball intelligence because there are moments in the game for which your coach cannot prepare you, video footage cannot prepare you, the history of the game cannot prepare you. You have to have basketball intelligence to make immediate adjustments,” said LeBron James, adding:
“If you don’t have that level of mental makeup or capacity, then a team like Denver Nuggets, which has one of the greatest basketball geniuses in history, as we’ve seen in Jokic, or the Golden State Warriors with Green, Steph… those things help. I believe when Warriors defeated Celtics, it all came down to IQ in the finals because in my opinion, Celtics had more talent. People say experience, but IQ is crucial.”