Nikola Jokic has become the gold standard for centers, with past and current big men being compared to him. However, some folks may have used the comparison too loosely. For instance, Dwight Howard called Andray Blatche the "Black Jokic."
Howard used the term to describe Blatche's scoring abilities. Hilariously, he also grabbed the opportunity to remind people that he was able to stop Jokic during their matchup in the 2020 playoffs.
What a peak Dray looked like
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year's statement stems from Blatche recounting how his former Brooklyn Nets coach Avery Johnson told him, "Don't worry about defense. When you get in the game, your job is to shoot the ball."
That was music to Dray's ears because he was coming off a disappointing conclusion to his Washington Wizards tenure. The team's fans had started booing the big man, resulting in his request for a new start with a different organization.
Brooklyn allowed Blatche to focus on his strengths, which included putting the ball on the floor, attacking the rim, extending his range, and not caring about getting scored on. The green light gave Andray the chance to showcase his ability to handle the rock like a guard in a big man's body.
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Not scoring on Dwight
Even if he thinks the world of Blatche's scoring prowess, Howard was able to stop him in most of their matchups. They faced off a total of 23 times, and the naturalized Filipino hoopster averaged just 7.6 points per contest in those meetings.
Still, the former Wizards big man managed to put up a couple of explosive offensive performances against Howard, including a 20-point outing in the 2007-08 season. Nearly two years later, Blatche put 32 points on 14-for-23 shooting on the head of Dwight, who scored 28 points himself and led the Orlando Magic to the victory.
For most of their face-offs, though, Howard looked like he was able to impose his will on defense. Of course, it's unclear how many of their minutes actually overlapped. But watching him put the clamps on Blatche wouldn't be surprising.
As the eight-time All-Star alluded to and has reiterated numerous times, he and the 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers made life tough for Jokic in the Western Conference Finals. In his defense, the Denver Nuggets superstar had his worst-scoring round during that series, with the Lakers limiting him to 21.8 points per game.
Howard has used that series as his ticket to a potential return to the NBA . However, he has continued to be like Blatche in that both of them are still out of the Association.
Related: "Why did you do that to us?" - Dwight Howard blames Rob Pelinka for breaking up the 2020 Lakers
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