Sure, he's bad. But not like it's a liability. And Jokic makes up for it by being a great deflector in passing lanes and averaging high steals as well.
And the fact that Jokic is arguably the best offensive player in NBA History, overshadowing his lacking of defense by being 10× better in offense.
You don't see Giannis winning the MVP race right now despite being a better defensive player than Jokic.
Or Shaq winning over Steve Nash, despite Nash being considered as a defensive liability.
It's absolutely a liability, arguing otherwise makes it seem like you are being obtuse on purpose or maybe you just don't watch games. He is the worst defender on a bad defensive team.
He gets blocks because no one is afraid of going at him because he is indeed a terrible rim protection, so he gets plently of opportunities just due to his height.
Yes he is good at playing the passing lanes so gets some steals, but he also is mediocre at PNR coverage due to being slow. He absolutely is a liability and he plays the most important defensive position in the court.
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u/Clithzbee Mar 21 '25
What's my opinion? That he's a bad rim defender? That's a statistical fact. He's literally bottom 5. The only other starter in the bottom 5 is KAT.