Nikola Jokic carrying Nuggets “like LeBron James,” Alex English says, deserves to be NBA MVP

And if you make the argument that the Joker is the greatest Nuggets player of all time, the eight-time Denver All-Star won’t argue.

31-03-2021 05:10

Hey, if you want to make a case for Nikola Jokic being the greatest Nugget ever, Alex English won’t argue. Not after this season. No way.

“Oh, man, he’s there,” English, the franchise’s all-time leader in points, assists and minutes said Tuesday before the Nuggets took on the Philadelphia 76ers at Ball Arena.

“I mean, I don’t claim the No.1 spot. I will let people determine and decide for themselves. But … (Jokic has) contributed a lot. And if they win a championship, that would be a lot more than what I could give this team.”

English, a 6-foot-7 scoring machine, gave his all. The South Carolina native averaged 25.9 points and 5.6 boards per game over 11 seasons in Denver, notching an NBA scoring title in 1983 and representing the Nuggets in eight All-Star games.

For years, the greatest-player argument here largely invoked four Hall of Famers, all worthy of the crown: English (1980-90), Dan Issel (1975-85), David Thompson (1975-82) and Carmelo Anthony (2003-10).

Only Jokic, who went into the Sixers showdown averaging 26.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 8.5 assists, could be on the cusp of nabbing what none of the other greats could: An NBA MVP award.

“I think (Jokic) has got a serious case,” English said of the Nuggets All-Star. “If they seriously look at him, the record’s been good, there’ve been times where he’s had to carry the team like LeBron (James) would’ve done, back in the day. Yeah, he’s got a legitimate shot.

“You take him out of the equation, the Nuggets are a good team. You keep in there, and they’ve got a chance to win the NBA championship.”

FanDuel listed the Joker as the oddsmakers’ favorite to nab the award at the start of this week (-130), followed by Brooklyn’s James Harden (+500) and the Sixers’ Joel Embiid (+750). DraftKings’ order was the same, with Jokic (-113) in front of Harden (+550), Embiid (+600) and James (+750).