Photo of Nuggets star Nikola Jokic looking ready to do bad things to Rudy Gobert goes viral

It doesn’t seem like Nikola Jokic has any personal vendetta against Rudy Gobert. But that makes his domination against him and the Timberwolves that much more impressive. Jokic is a stone-cold killer that he doesn’t need the emotional boost to play his best. All he needs is to sense that his team needs him to dominate to get the victory, and in Game 5, that’s exactly what he did. Now, they only need to win one more to be that much closer to a return trip to the NBA Finals.

Brother, I have 47

Back on January 31, 2021, Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets faced Rudy Gobert’s Utah Jazz in a hotly-contested in-division matchup. Jokic hadn’t yet won a MVP at this point, so it’s safe to say that he’s a much better player now than he was three years ago. With the Jazz trying to mount a comeback, Jamal Murray recalled that they were trying to send a double team towards Jokic to force the ball out of his hands as the Joker had been carving them up all night long.

Gobert, however, waved off his teammates, saying that he wanted to play Jokic straight up. Murray then recounted Jokic’s reply. He said that the Nuggets star calmly told Gobert that he had 47 points. This gave birth to a quote card meme that became ever so relevant after Jokic rendered Gobert and the Timberwolves helpless in Game 5.

The greatest offensive players in NBA history tend to get theirs no matter who the defender in front of them is. For Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert is just another player he has to score over. And on Tuesday night, the MVP reigned supreme over the DPOY, and the Nuggets are making everyone who doubted them eat their words.

The Nuggets star’s history of dominance against Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert has been one of the best, most intimidating defensive presences in the NBA for the greater part of the past decade. But as mentioned earlier, he hasn’t exactly slowed down Nikola Jokic, and now that the Nuggets star is in his peak, he stands little chance in stopping him one on one. Game 5 showed that Gobert has his fair share of difficulties in guarding Jokic — which means that not much has changed.

Since the 2020-21 season, Jokic’s first MVP campaign, the Nuggets star has averaged 29.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 8.7 assists in 10 games against the Stifle Tower. His shooting splits are insane as well; in those games, he shot 62.0 percent from the field, 51.4 percent from deep, and 79.7 percent from the foul line — which is good for a true shooting percentage of 70.0. Doing that against Gobert is no mean feat.

It’s unreal how Jokic is putting up better individual numbers against Gobert than he does against Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo during that same timeframe. Does this call into question the quality of Gobert’s defense? Perhaps. But it’s not like Jokic has struggled against the other two DPOY-caliber big men mentioned.

Maybe it means more to Jokic when he dominates against one of the greatest defenders in league history in terms of individual accolades. Whatever the case may be, Jokic is the ultimate antidote for Gobert’s elite defense, and Game 5 is further evidence as to why.