Nikola Jokić Praises Victor Wembanyama, Says Spurs Star 'Will Be Remembered Forever'

Nikola Jokić heaped praise on Victor Wembanyama following the San Antonio Spurs' 113-110 road win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Jokić expressed his belief that Wembanyama is better than he was last season and will continue to get better before adding: "He's a special player. I think he's gonna be one of a kind and one who's gonna be remembered forever."

Jokić put up monstrous numbers in Friday's loss, recording a game-high 41 points to go along with 18 rebounds and nine assists, but the Spurs prevailed behind Wemby's 35 points on 14-of-22 shooting, plus 18 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Prior to going No. 1 overall in the 2023 NBA draft, Wembanyama was one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory.

The Frenchman didn't disappoint, as he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocks, 1.8 three-pointers made and 1.2 steals per game during his debut season, en route to being named the unanimous NBA Rookie of the Year and finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

He followed that up by leading France to a silver medal in men's basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The 7'3" center has taken significant strides in his second NBA season, averaging 25.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.9 blocks, 3.3 three-pointers made and 1.0 steal per contest, while hitting 48.7 percent of his shots from the field and 36.2 percent of his attempts from deep.

Wemby is arguably already the most complete player in the NBA despite the fact that he just turned 21` on Saturday.

The most impressive aspect of Wembanyama's second NBA season may be the fact that he has the Spurs in playoff contention at 18-16, which is good for eighth place in the Western Conference.

San Antonio has posted five consecutive losing seasons, including 22-60 marks in each of the past two campaigns.

The calendar just turned to January, and Wembanyama already has the Spurs on the verge of winning as many games this season as they did all of last season.

There is perhaps no higher compliment for an NBA big man than to be praised by Jokić, who is a three-time NBA MVP and may be heading toward his fourth this season thanks to averages of 31.0 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game.

Jokić is undoubtedly among the most versatile bigs of all time, and Wembanyama is already trending toward putting himself in that same category.

All signs point toward Jokić passing the proverbial torch of NBA big man supremacy to Wembanyama in the future, but for now, they are both elite players who figure to have many more battles in the years to come.