If you could pick 1 player in history to guard Jokic who would you pick?

[ardee]

Given his range and ball-handling ability, do you pick a big man or maybe a really lengthy wing who can keep up with him on the perimeter?

[Matt15]

Id probably go with Prime David Robinson

[Heej]

Rodman no hesitation. LeBron got in Jokic's head while guarding him at one point, imagine what Rodman would pull.

Or if he was up to the task for a whole game I'm taking Miami LeBron and not thinking twice

[rk2023]

Nate Thurmond
LeBron James (2012/13)
Hakeem Olajuwon
Dennis Rodman
Draymond Green (2015-17)

No order, but those are the five I’d trust most.

[Colbinii]

Rodman, Draymond or LeBron

[MyUniBroDavis]

Dwight did a great job in the bubble, so peak dwight I assume would do great.

Strong guys with a strong base that are quick are a good move here, he does pretty well against length but obviously that’s a plus

Lebron did a good job on him this playoffs, I’d think Rodman is probably a good shout, his base is even stronger id think.

Today, it’s kind of tough because alotnof the guys are slimmed down with the era requirements and suddenly big honey arrives lol, but I thinkadams does a great job vs the post ups cuz he’s so strong, but usually on drives and esp in some close out situations he’s not as effective (and you have to be because he’s gonna get the ball on the pop a lot)

Zubac I think has done a solid job historically, till they put harrell on him lol.

I don’t think I’d put a guy like KG on him, probably gets the AD treatment.

If ur getting someone to guard Jokic it has to be someone that can guard the off ball stuff too, because even if you stop on ball, his touch is so good that him taking middies and stuff off the catch basically is still pretty unstoppable.

I’d be interested in a young Shaq just cuz physically that’s a pretty good profile to guard him, wilt of course too. Feel Russell probably too skinny

[One_and_Done]

Alot of guys could do it solidly. Draymond seemed to have his number last year for example.

[eminence]

I'm not really sure why I'd go with anyone other than Russell. He's simply the best defender in his own era by a fair margin (maybe early career Mikan has a case, but the data is almost non-existent) and there's really no doubt about him translating defensively.

[FuShengTHEGreat]

Rodman no hesitation. LeBron got in Jokic's head while guarding him at one point, imagine what Rodman would pull.

Rodman literally threw in the towel (he actually covered his head in a towel at one point) trying to guard a comparable offensive talent at Center in Hakeem in 95 to the point he refused to do so. Its better to say who knows where his head would be vs Jokic?

What's he gonna do other than collect the odd defensive rebound on misses and flop his way around (where a lot of his value came from in his era guarding big men and is more frowned upon today) the court?

He's not mentally getting under Jokic's skin the way he did to a mentally weaker Zo. His "mind games" would have the same effect they had on Hakeem.

[giordunk]

It's not so much which person but what scheme you have in place. From this finals I think it's tough to put your only big on Jokic because you lose a lot of rim protection. You're much better off having your rim protector stay home, and have another body on Jokic. Ideally this guy is large enough where it's not an easy mismatch in the post.

In that sense I think the 04 Pistons are built pretty well to give Jokic a hard time. Rasheed Wallace is not a bad pick - can get in his head, has enough physicality to give him trouble in the paint.

[FuShengTHEGreat]

Alot of guys could do it solidly. Draymond seemed to have his number last year for example.

He really didnt have a team last year. It was easy for GS to zero in on him.

[Heej]

Rodman no hesitation. LeBron got in Jokic's head while guarding him at one point, imagine what Rodman would pull.

Rodman literally threw in the towel (he actually covered his head in a towel at one point) trying to guard a comparable offensive talent at Center in Hakeem in 95 to the point he refused to do so. Its better to say who knows where his head would be vs Jokic?

What's he gonna do other than collect the odd defensive rebound on misses and flop his way around (where a lot of his value came from in his era guarding big men and is more frowned upon today) the court?

He's not mentally getting under Jokic's skin the way he did to a mentally weaker Zo. His "mind games" would have the same effect they had on Hakeem.

What the actual f***? NO LMAO do you even remember your history? The controversy with Rodman on the Spurs was that he refused to double Hakeem according to the gameplan and told Robinson to figure it out himself.

Rodman had admirable stretches on Young Shaq, and LeBron got Jokic pissed off enough to draw offensive frustration fouls on him. Rodman is going to piss Jokic off just because he'll actually be able to navigate those screens, hold his ground in the post due to his lower center of gravity and freakish strength, and go relentlessly after every rebound all while getting away with cheap shots and saying nonsense the entire game.

The majority of his value came from his rebounding actually. These takes are all just pure lies or just plain wrong lol what are you even saying fr.

Anyways to the rest of the people in this thread, I chose those 2 as well as agree with the Draymond shout because you need guys that can defend his perimeter attack and have the lower body strength+motor+IQ to not fall asleep and get to work early on plays pushing them out of post position, and walling them off once they make their move.

Dwight is a pretty good choice too but Jokic is an even more evolved perimeter player now coming off screens and spotting up. Prime Dwight might be more equipped to handle that but I think it's been shown that the optimal alignment vs Jokic is to have your best paint protector shading vs putting them on Jokic full time.

[70sFan]

Nate Thurmond easily.

[penbeast0]

Russell; he was strong enough to face up to the more muscle bound centers of his era. If he had weight training, Jokic isn't overpowering him. However, the main reason is that Russell was not only one of the best show and recover defenders, he was pretty good at overplaying the pass in to the post to deny Jokic the ball at times (since Jokic with the ball in his hands is clearly to me the GOAT big man playmaker), and quick enough to guard Jokic outside while still getting down low to rebound. I assume he'd adjust to guarding the 3 point line; he was a high IQ player.

Thurmond may have been the GOAT post man defender; but Jokic would take him outside more and he seemed less adaptable than Russell. I don't trust Rodman to stay on Jokic once he realized they paid him for his rebounding stats; he's a good defender but he's also undersized relative to a Russell type who was 1-2 inches taller (they used college barefoot measurements) with more of a wingspan. The other guys after Russell I'd use are the ones that play the most like him defensively, Hakeem and David Robinson who also have quick hands and overplay to deny the entry pass relying on their quickness to recover.

The big problem with Russell is he can't take advantage of Jokic's lesser defensive skills on the other end of the floor.

[One_and_Done]

Alot of guys could do it solidly. Draymond seemed to have his number last year for example.

He really didnt have a team last year. It was easy for GS to zero in on him.

And this year he had the best healthy support cast, so he won. If all the stars support casts were equal Denver would have been out in the 2nd round this year.

[FuShengTHEGreat]

What the actual f***? NO LMAO do you even remember your history? The controversy with Rodman on the Spurs was that he refused to double Hakeem according to the gameplan and told Robinson to figure it out himself.

Rodman had admirable stretches on Young Shaq, and LeBron got Jokic pissed off enough to draw offensive frustration fouls on him. Rodman is going to piss Jokic off just because he'll actually be able to navigate those screens, hold his ground in the post due to his lower center of gravity and freakish strength, and go relentlessly after every rebound all while getting away with cheap shots and saying nonsense the entire game.

The majority of his value came from his rebounding actually. These takes are all just pure lies or just plain wrong lol what are you even saying fr.

That's a flat out falsity about refusing to help with double teams. He refused to guard Hakeem when asked to.....period. He wanted to wait til the 2nd half in game 5, by then the game was already a rout. Oh he did in game 6 with a dirty trip that Hakeem laughed off.

"Where was David Robinson in the Houston series (1995 Western Conference Finals)? He got eaten alive by Hakeem Olajuwon that whole series. They asked me to guard Olajuwon, and I refused. Bob Hill came up to me and asked if I would take Hakeem in the first half, and I said no."

Yeah he didnt have his band of interior goons in Detroit to hide behind. And he didnt have GOAT tier perimeter defenders of Chicago alongside him as justification for refusing to do so when he brings up what he did in Detroit/Chicago vs what SA needed from him.

All Shaq did was mostly set up near the rim and play to his strengths. 34 year old Rodman wasnt chasing Jokic around on the perimeter. He already showed the previous year vs Houston he wanted no part of that on defense. And Detroit Rodman wasnt strong enough to keep Jokic from setting up in the paint.

[Heej]

What the actual f***? NO LMAO do you even remember your history? The controversy with Rodman on the Spurs was that he refused to double Hakeem according to the gameplan and told Robinson to figure it out himself.

Rodman had admirable stretches on Young Shaq, and LeBron got Jokic pissed off enough to draw offensive frustration fouls on him. Rodman is going to piss Jokic off just because he'll actually be able to navigate those screens, hold his ground in the post due to his lower center of gravity and freakish strength, and go relentlessly after every rebound all while getting away with cheap shots and saying nonsense the entire game.

The majority of his value came from his rebounding actually. These takes are all just pure lies or just plain wrong lol what are you even saying fr.

That's a flat out falsity about refusing to help with double teams. He refused to guard Hakeem when asked to.....period. He wanted to wait til the 2nd half in game 5, by then the game was already a rout. Oh he did in game 6 with a dirty trip that Hakeem laughed off.

"Where was David Robinson in the Houston series (1995 Western Conference Finals)? He got eaten alive by Hakeem Olajuwon that whole series. They asked me to guard Olajuwon, and I refused. Bob Hill came up to me and asked if I would take Hakeem in the first half, and I said no."

Yeah he didnt have his band of interior goons in Detroit to hide behind. And he didnt have GOAT tier perimeter defenders of Chicago alongside him as justification for refusing to do so when he brings up what he did in Detroit/Chicago vs what SA needed from him.

All Shaq did was mostly set up near the rim and play to his strengths. 34 year old Rodman wasnt chasing Jokic around on the perimeter. He already showed the previous year vs Houston he wanted no part of that on defense. And Detroit Rodman wasnt strong enough to keep Jokic from setting up in the paint.

Interesting how you also leave out these quotes from the same excerpt:

"I would have taken him in the second half, but not the first. Any coach will tell you you don’t put your best defensive player on the other team’s best offensive player in the first half. You put it all on the line in the second half. That’s how it worked with Chuck Daly in Detroit, and I know that’s how Phil Jackson feels in Chicago.”

Doesn't sound at all like a guy who wanted no part of Hakeem, but rather someone who subscribed to a very specific defensive philosophy. He also further explains it's because he doesn't want to be in foul trouble by the second half and be unable to play physical. But there was this part that for some reason unbeknownst to man, you're pretending doesn't exist:

"They asked me to double-team Olajuwon, and I refused. The way the defense was drawn up, there was no way I was going to be able to get back down inside when my man was at the top of the key or way out on the baseline."

And LOL @34yo Rodman not being able to chase Jokic's lumbering ass around screens. That's not that old lmao, especially for a guy who was once one of the best perimeter defenders in the league to deny a slow-footed center. Especially because he did just fine guarding Karl Malone in Sloan's flex offense when he was frequently receiving pin downs after setting cross screens and popping out for midranges.

You're really going out of your way to spew some bulls*** and make up stuff, and I don't quite see the reason why but it's extremely weird lmao

[SHAQ32]

Dwight Howard

[Heej]

Russell; he was strong enough to face up to the more muscle bound centers of his era. If he had weight training, Jokic isn't overpowering him. However, the main reason is that Russell was not only one of the best show and recover defenders, he was pretty good at overplaying the pass in to the post to deny Jokic the ball at times (since Jokic with the ball in his hands is clearly to me the GOAT big man playmaker), and quick enough to guard Jokic outside while still getting down low to rebound. I assume he'd adjust to guarding the 3 point line; he was a high IQ player.

Thurmond may have been the GOAT post man defender; but Jokic would take him outside more and he seemed less adaptable than Russell. I don't trust Rodman to stay on Jokic once he realized they paid him for his rebounding stats; he's a good defender but he's also undersized relative to a Russell type who was 1-2 inches taller (they used college barefoot measurements) with more of a wingspan. The other guys after Russell I'd use are the ones that play the most like him defensively, Hakeem and David Robinson who also have quick hands and overplay to deny the entry pass relying on their quickness to recover.

The big problem with Russell is he can't take advantage of Jokic's lesser defensive skills on the other end of the floor.

Russell is a great choice. Kinda mad at myself for not mentioning him.

[MyUniBroDavis]

Russell; he was strong enough to face up to the more muscle bound centers of his era. If he had weight training, Jokic isn't overpowering him. However, the main reason is that Russell was not only one of the best show and recover defenders, he was pretty good at overplaying the pass in to the post to deny Jokic the ball at times (since Jokic with the ball in his hands is clearly to me the GOAT big man playmaker), and quick enough to guard Jokic outside while still getting down low to rebound. I assume he'd adjust to guarding the 3 point line; he was a high IQ player.

Thurmond may have been the GOAT post man defender; but Jokic would take him outside more and he seemed less adaptable than Russell. I don't trust Rodman to stay on Jokic once he realized they paid him for his rebounding stats; he's a good defender but he's also undersized relative to a Russell type who was 1-2 inches taller (they used college barefoot measurements) with more of a wingspan. The other guys after Russell I'd use are the ones that play the most like him defensively, Hakeem and David Robinson who also have quick hands and overplay to deny the entry pass relying on their quickness to recover.

The big problem with Russell is he can't take advantage of Jokic's lesser defensive skills on the other end of the floor.

Russell is a great choice. Kinda mad at myself for not mentioning him.

Werent aggressive backdowns illegal back then lol