The Golden State Warriors polished off a 4-1 series win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in San Francisco, coming back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to become the first team in the West to punch their ticket to the second round.
The series was much more competitive in the final three games, with Denver nabbing Game 4 and pushing the Warriors to the wire in Games 3 and 5, and the Nuggets deserve plenty of credit for continuing to fight despite most assuming the series was over after Golden State’s dominant start in the first two games. Leading the way as always was Nikola Jokic, who averaged 31 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game in the series, doing his best to will the Nuggets back into it despite being tasked with going up against Draymond Green.
For those of us on the outside, the matchup was a delight to watch as two of the league’s smartest players did battle, trying to out-position the other off the ball and then using moves and counter moves once on the ball to out-do the other. After the game, Green and Jokic embraced and shared a quick conversation, and Draymond explained afterwards what he was telling the reigning MVP.
"I just told him thank you for making me better… it's an honor and a pleasure to play against someone so talented and so skilled"
Draymond Green on Nikola Jokic of the @nuggets after their first-round series. pic.twitter.com/ZNf3WHubmD
— NBA (@NBA) April 28, 2022
“I just told him thank you for making me better. It’s absolutely incredible to play against a guy like that. Incredible, incredible talent. I just told him thank you for making me better. It’s an honor and a pleasure to play against someone so talented and so skilled, and usually when you have guys that talented and that skilled they’re soft. He’s far, far from soft. He’s an absolutely incredible player.”
That respect was mutual, with Jokic being asked about that matchup after the game and heaping praise on Green for everything he does for the Warriors on defense.
"I really appreciate our matchup," Nikola Jokic said of playing against Draymond Green. He called Green the Warriors' "eyes and their ears. Amazing player."
"To be honest, he's stopped much better offensive players than me through his career."
Jokic's full quote
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) April 28, 2022
It’s cool to see that mutual admiration between two great players. Green is never shy about making his true feelings known about someone, and you can see the genuine respect he has for Jokic, awe of some of the things he can do, and appreciation for his competitiveness. For two of the game’s most cerebral players, this matchup will surely pay dividends for both down the road as they’ll have learned something from the other’s approach, and that’s a scary proposition for other future opponents.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/draymond-green-nikola-jokic-thank-you-making-me-better-video/