Kevin Durant ranks Nikola Jokic: “The best player in the world”

By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]

After a winning effort to close out the 2024 NBA Christmas Games and help the Phoenix Suns overpower the Denver Nuggets at the Footprint Center, Kevin Durant praised Nikola Jokic.

In a postgame interview with ESPN, he answered a question about himself alongside LeBron James and Stephen Curry, highlighting the NBA Christmas schedule.

“You see Jokic tonight. You see a Hall of Famer, an icon in Russell (Westbrook) tonight. You see great young players around the league tonight,” he pointed to opponents on the Nuggets squad and further added to the initial list, “It was a great day for basketball, I’m thankful that I was able to play on this great day.”

“They’re a physical team. They got arguably the best player in the world, top 10 player of all time in Jokic,” the 36-year-old combo-forward described the biggest challenges in taking down the Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Constant clashes with the Joker have stretched from the league based in North America to famous clashes between the USA and Serbia at the international level over the past years, including the 2024 Olympic Games.

In his most recent Christmas performance, Durant shared a game-high 27 points with teammate Bradley Beal. On the wrong end, Jokic posted a 25-point, 15-rebound double-double.

After improving to 15-14 in the 2024-25 NBA season and pushing the Nuggets to 16-12, the Suns host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, shortly after an injury setback for Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic.

Photo credit: FIBA

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