Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green have quite a productive relationship despite being rivals in the west, one could say Golden State’s defensive force and Denver’s two-time MVP have a ‘healthy’ relationship.

Years ago Green called out Jokic’s defense while working as an analyst in the playoffs. Instead of Jokic being offended by Green he took the criticisms and applied the knowledge and has since credited and thanked Green for the tips. In turn, Green thanked Jokic for giving him the confidence to respectfully talk ball. Ever since the two have shown a great deal of respect for each other as soon as the whistle on their great matchups is blown.

On Green’s podcast this week he offered support for Jokic in light of Kendrick Perkins outrageous race-baiting commentary on ESPN’s First Take where he called the Nuggets all-world center a stat padder and incorrectly cited stats to create a narrative around white players. Green called Perkins’ thoughts “lazy” and dismissed the entire stat-padding take.

"The stat-padding narrative is lazy"

—@Money23Green doesn't agree with the Jokic criticism pic.twitter.com/Jl12KSaqRR

— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) March 9, 2023

Green said Perkins needs to take more pride in his work and stop being lazy as a commentator. While Green didn’t explicitly say Jokic should win MVP, interestingly, he’s again showing his respect to the Nuggets big.

Fellow player to Green and fellow ESPN commentator to Perkins CJ McCollum also spoke on the topic while being interviewed by Zach Lowe.

McCollum, the president of the NBA’s Players Association said he’d give this year’s MVP to Nikola Jokic and that he’s a player like nothing he’s ever seen.

CJ McCollum picks Jokic as his MVP. "The way he controls the game, it's just – it's unlike anything you've ever seen" #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/yHUzPYjy0c

— n i k o l a e s t h e t i c (@nikolaesthetic) March 10, 2023

Jokic is again having an historic season, averaging a triple-double on unheard of efficiency.

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