A mere glance at Nikola Jokic doesn’t immediately convey the impression of the world’s premier basketball player, nor does he exude the commanding dominance often associated with icons like Shaquille O’Neal or Michael Jordan.
Although Jokic stands 6’11” and weighs 284 pounds, he doesn’t sport the chiseled physique that the likes of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo possess.
However, as Hall of Famer Dwight Howard revealed in a recent interview with Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., looks can be deceiving. The former NBA superstar spoke candidly about the challenges of defending Jokic, an experience he had firsthand when he faced the Serbian in the 2020 Western Conference Finals inside the “Orlando Bubble.”
Tasked with defending Joker
By the time the 2020 playoffs arrived, Jokic had completely established himself as one of the NBA’s premier players. Selected in the second round of the 2014 draft. Jokic relentlessly worked on his game, and in 2020, the hard work had paid dividends, as he became an All-Star, a member of the All-NBA Second Team and an MVP contender.
As the Nuggets advanced to the West finals, the Los Angeles Lakers knew their work was cut out for them in trying to slow the Serbian down. Fortunately for the Purple and Gold, they had Howard, who was more than willing to devote his full energy to the task at hand.
Throughout his career, Howard has been known for his defensive prowess. In fact, he won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and was named to the All-Defensive Team five times. At 34, he knew that Feather Time was already bearing down on him, which meant that slowing Jokic would demand more from him than ever before. Yet, Howard proved unequivocally ready for the challenge.
“It was so much fun playing against him, even at that stage in my career, because my only job was to lock in on defense on him. I was able to just focus on how I could agitate him, what I needed to do to pressure him the whole game,” Dwight told MPJ.
As much as Dwight relied on his otherworldly athleticism to dominate on both ends for much of his illustrious career, he possessed a sharp mind on defense. And as he carefully studied Nikola’s skill set, he came upon a few things that would help bother the Joker a little bit.
“I saw that when you gave him a lot of space, he could attack, get comfortable, go either way, hit up-and-unders, pull-ups, everything,” Howard stated. “And I told myself, ‘No, I can’t let him do that.'”
Heading to the ’20 West finals, Jokic had been averaging an impressive 25.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the first two rounds. However, against the Lakers, he was limited to 21.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists, thanks to Howard’s pesky and tenacious defense.
Jokic was a handful for Howard
As masterful a job as D12 did on hounding Jokic, he admitted that executing that job took a lot out of him, physically and mentally. Jokic’s hoops IQ is off the charts and while he bears a rotund physique, Howard reported that Jokic hits a lot harder than one would assume.
“That took a lot of mental energy because he’s a tough player. He’s super smart. A lot of people don’t realize how strong he is because they don’t see the muscles,” Dwight relayed. “But he’s got that hidden strength — that core, that back strength — like (Jusuf) Nurkic. He doesn’t look strong, but when he backs you down, you feel it.”
By then, Howard was no longer the dominant, crowd-pulling superstar of the early 2000s. Before joining the Lakers, he had bounced between three teams in just three seasons, signaling that his career was entering its twilight. Yet, Howard remained confident that he had plenty left to give and was determined to prove it.
“At that point in my career, I was fighting for my life. I told myself, ‘I gotta do whatever I can to get two, three more years in this league.’ And I knew if I stopped this man and we won the championship, that would be my ticket,” Howard shared.
The Lakers ousted the Nuggets in five games and then won the title after defeating the Miami Heat in the finals. Howard’s dream of playing a few more years in the big league eventually came true as he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers the following season before returning to the Lakers for his final hurrah in the NBA in 2022.