Nikola Jokić names his NBA Mount Rushmore — Russell, Jordan, Wilt and Curry, no LeBron

DENVER — Oct. 14, 2026 — Nikola Jokić has been compared to almost every great big man and playmaker in league history. Asked to build his own Mount Rushmore this week, the Denver Nuggets center went with Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry — and left LeBron James off it.

The three-time MVP gave his list in an interview with SPORTbible tied to his new Sprite ambassador role, and he explained each pick in a sentence or less.

“Probably Bill Russell because of the championship. Michael Jordan because he changed the game. Probably Wilt Chamberlain because all the numbers and all the crazy stats. And I’m going to put Steph Curry because he changed the game and he’s kind of my generation.”

He added one more line on Curry, the only active player on the list and the only one he has actually shared a floor with.

“I played against the guy so he kind of changed the game. So those are the four.”

Who missed the cut

The list is as notable for who is absent as for who made it. James, now with the 76ers, is not there. Neither are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant. Jokić did not explain the omissions, and his criteria shifted pick to pick: rings for Russell, influence for Jordan and Curry, raw production for Chamberlain.

The Chamberlain pick fits a season in which Jokić himself chased the record books. In 2025-26 he averaged 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists to become the first player to lead the league in both per-game categories in the same season. The nearest precedent is Chamberlain leading the NBA in total rebounds and total assists in 1967-68.

The opponents who gave him the most trouble

Jokić declined to name a single toughest matchup. Instead he listed a group of centers and bigs from his era: Joel Embiid, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis and, more recently, Victor Wembanyama.

“I mean, I think the league is so talented. It’s so good that there is so many, so many players. But let’s say in my generation, it’s Embiid, Towns, Anthony Davis, basically all the big names, Victor right now. So it’s a really talented league right now.”

All four are still central to contenders or rising teams. Embiid now shares the floor in Philadelphia with James and Jaylen Brown, Towns is coming off a championship with the Knicks, Davis is anchoring Washington’s defense next to No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, and Wembanyama led the league in blocks last season for a Spurs team that reached the Finals.

Why Sprite, and staying himself

The interview coincided with Coca-Cola adding Jokić to Sprite’s global NBA campaign alongside Anthony Edwards. Jokić said the history of the brand in basketball made it an easy yes.

“Just because it was Sprite and has been in the game for so long and probably before I was born. And when I got the call, I was like, yeah, this sounds fun. And this is something that is new. And why not?”

Asked how he has stayed the same person as his profile has grown, he kept it simple.

“I think that just like try to be yourself and try to stay on your course and try to do it your way is the most important thing, you know, so I’m proud of it. And hopefully, I can keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Denver opens the regular season next week with the reigning rebounds and assists leader at center. If Jokić keeps stacking numbers the way he did last season, the question of where he fits on other people’s lists will only get louder.