The Los Angeles Lakers made an unprecedented run last season to the Conference Finals. As a seventh seed, they first knocked out Timberwolves. After that, they had a rousing win against the Grizzlies. Then they took care of the business against the 2022 Champions Warriors. But then they ran into the juggernaut of the Denver Nuggets in May. Jokic and Co. swatted them aside in just four games. This was a sweet revenge for a team that had lost the West Finals in 2020.

One Laker player also was a teammate of the Joker once. He reveals how he saw the greatness coming.

The rise and rise of the Denver Nuggets

Coming back to the amazing Lakers run, it happened after the team traded Russell Westbrook. With AD playing well with the new arrivals, a deep run looked imminent. The return of LeBron James was the icing on the cake. But it was the new entrants that made the difference. D’Angelo Russell’s shooting was instrumental. Rui Hachimura was on fire too. And then Forward Jarred Vanderbilt gave the team a much-needed component of hustle.

He recently inked a four-year $48 million deal with the team. The 24-year-old Forward was playing a vital part in a struggling Jazz before arriving at the Lakeshow. However, it was the Minnesota Timberwolves where he started to figure in main rotations. Before that, he played alongside The Joker in the Denver Nuggets. For the mile-high city, he was a benchwarmer, never averaging even five minutes a game during his three seasons. He mostly appeared in the G-League. However, with the Nuggets, he got to witness the rise of Nikola Jokic.

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He sat down with Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson on their YT channel Tidal League and discussed the rise of the Nuggets. Former NBA Mavericks Guard Pinson asked, “Did you see the Jokic that we see right now?” The Forward had a straightforward answer.

Vanderbilt foresaw the Nuggets’ greatness

He answered, “Oh yeah, for sure. I seen it day one. He was just different. Once he realized how nice he was, and the impact he could do. He was there. He was just always super nice. But you know they were kind of pushing him. Go get MVP”. 

He continued, “I remember Byron was like bro, go get MVP, like you could do that sh**. Once he got to realize that he feel like to do that sh**, it was over. They always seen the flashes like what he could do, what he was capable of”. As a two-time league MVP, a Finals MVP, and with a historic triple-double stat line, Jokic has left his stamp in the NBA world. His run is going to be among one of the greatest in the 77 years of the NBA.

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