During a recent interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, NBA Hall of Fame coach George Karl was asked who he was the second best player in basketball, assuming Nikola Jokic or the first.
“I always want to give number one to LeBron,” Karl said. “So I guess LeBron would be number two in my mind (behind Jokic), but it’s really a matter of young and old, and the old guys know how to win, they know how hard it is to win, and that’s what’s coming for these young people – they’re going to learn in the next few weeks.”
As Karl pointed out, there seems to be a real-time battle between the older generation and the younger generation. In the Western Conference, it’s Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic who lead their respective teams ahead of future Hall of Famers like Kevin Durant, James Harden, Paul George and others. Then there’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his young Oklahoma City Thunder squad looking to continue their rise.
Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets fall somewhere between the old and young generation, as Jokic is younger than the LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry group, but older than the Edwards, Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander group.
For Karl, he sees the younger generation coming into their own in this exciting playoff run, but James still remains at the top of the league, even as the oldest player in the NBA.
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