Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic name most enjoyable takeaway from their head-to-head duels / News - Basketnews.com

Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic spoke about the elements that render their on-court battles colorful, while the Slovenian guard said the Serbian big man is probably 'the best player in the world.'

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

Sometimes it seems that Nikola Jokic doesn't care too much about the possibility of having some of his politically incorrect answers misinterpreted, even if they are just a joke.

Luka Doncic

MIN:37.72PTS:33.8 (56.77%)REB:10.6As:9.4ST:0.8BL:0.6TO:5GM:5ProfileNBA2023/2024

Asked about what makes him enjoy playing against Luka Doncic the most, the two-time MVP was clear: “That I can beat him and make fun of him," the Serbian big man replied after the Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks on Friday (125-114).

Doncic and Jokic put up impressive stat lines in their head-to-head duel. Doncic finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, despite only going 11/24 from the field and committing 9 turnovers. Jokic put up 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 14/16 overall.

The balance of clashes between the two goes 7-7. Jokic has averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists in these duels, while Doncic has registered 25.8 points, 7.6 boards and 10.4 dimes.

For the Mavs superstar, a game against the Nuggets means even more, as he has a brother-like relationship with Jokic. After Friday’s game, Doncic claimed that Jokic was probably the best basketball player in the world. Talking about the kind of tactical impact the Nuggets center tends to have on each game, Luka said that coaches and players alike were well aware of his genius.

"I think everybody knew him before [the MVPs and NBA Finals]," Doncic said. "He's not really on the media stuff a lot, but all the players, all the coaches know how special he is. He's right now, probably the best basketball player in the world."

"It's great. It's always fun with him,” Doncic said of playing against Jokic. "Of course, he's an amazing basketball player, but he's a great guy. That's what I love the most about him. Just always joking around. He's just a simple and very amazing man.”

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