Nikola Jokic reveals his Mount Rushmore of international players
The NBA All-Star game will take place on Sunday afternoon, with the Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic among the novices for the event. Jokić will be a member a “world” team, which includes several star international players, who will compete against stars from the United States.
In that spirit, Jokic recently revealed his Mount Rushmore of international players in NBA history, according to David Mendes-Japkowitz of ClutchPoints: Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobli, Hakeem Olajuwon and Tony Parker
Jokic also mentioned Pau Gasol as a possible candidate.
The Nuggets star unselfishly declined to be listed on his Mount Rushmore, but he’d surely be on almost everyone else’s list, considering he’s already brought Denver fans three MVPs and an NBA Finals victory.
These days, the NBA has become more global than ever, and many are looking at the World Team on All-Star Weekend as the clear favorites to win.
Jokic will be teammates with the likes of Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Giljie-Alexander, San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama and Los Angeles Lakers MVP candidate Luka Doncic, among other talented international players. These players, along with Antetokounmpo, are considered the best five in the league today, and the fact that they all come from outside the United States shows how much the game has expanded in recent years.
One of the big talking points at this year’s All-Star Game is whether the players will give a better effort than in years past, with many accusing them of depleting fan attendance by playing well below their capacity.
Jokic may not be the one to solve this problem, given his performance in years past, but the league will hope that the USA vs. World format will be enough to motivate the players to give it some energy.
2026-02-15 16:40:00
