“The speed is there. We are the same athletically. ”

If you need the explanation Nikola Jokic is laughing and making fun of himself in this answer, you need to take a step back and work on your sense of humor. Life is far too short not to laugh.

Denver has had a string of quality wins – including Utah’s 11-game winning streak, with Jokic scoring 47 – and now everyone is looking forward to a benchmark game Thursday against the Lakers on Thursday. This led a reporter to ask Jokic on Wednesday during a Zoom session how he compares to LeBron James (via Mike Singer of the Denver Post).

It’s awesome.

And again, of course, the man is joking.

Jamal Murray gave a more serious and interesting answer.

Murray nails him. What makes some of the greats hard to stop is incredible sight and passing combined with the ability to get buckets. Larry Bird was really that kind of player, as was LeBron – he led the league in assists last year. Luka Doncic is that kind of player now. Jokic isn’t as pure as LeBron can be, but he can score from all three levels and form a team with his pass. Jokic is playing at MVP level this season.

The story continues

It’s going to be interesting to see how the Lakers defend him and how long Anthony Davis and LeBron hang out on Jokic.

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Jokic jokes on the LeBron comparison: “The speed is there. We are the same athletically. originally appeared on NBCSports.com