The Nuggets’ combo of Jokic and Murray reminds Tyson Chandler of a former Mavericks’ duo

Everyone following the NBA has fallen in love with the Denver Nuggets this season. It’s easy to see why, with Nikola Jokic changing the center position as we know it. Jokic runs the Nuggets’ offense while simultaneously functioning as a rugged rebounder and ever-present threat to score.

He’s carried Denver the last two postseasons while Jamal Murray recovered from a torn ACL. But now Murray is back, and Jokic has the star teammate he’s been missing. The two players have a synergy that’s unmistakable, and their games fit together seamlessly. Jokic and Murray run a deadly two-man game, a pick-and-roll, dribble-handoff attack that has so many options it’s almost impossible to defend.

It reminded Dallas Mavericks legend Tyson Chandler of a duo he played with back in 2011:

That’s high praise for Jokic and Murray from Chandler. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are one of the best pick-and-roll duos in the last twenty years. They played together for years, going to two Finals and winning one championship together. The two had a chemistry built across years of playing together, coming up short as a team, and eventually, winning it all together.

Jokic and Murray have the same connection and have been on a similar journey. They’ll be playing in their first Finals together this June, but they’ve been through a lot over the last half decade. Between Murray’s injury and their collapse against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2019, among other things, Jokic and Murray have been through battles. Now they’re four wins away from joining Nowitzki and Terry as champions.

Our guy Panda Hank put together a compilation of eerily similar plays by Jokic, Murray, Nowitzki, and Terry:

Getting to watch Jokic and Murray has at least made the Mavericks’ absence from the playoffs a little easier to bear. Maybe they’ll replicate Dirk and Jet’s 2011 Finals performance and capture the Nuggets’ first ever title in just a few weeks.