NBA – Boris Diaw model of Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green: “It’s really the best recognition”

In recent months, the name of Boris Diaw has returned to the small universe of the NBA. Twice in particular. And it did not come out of just any mouth since we are talking about Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green. A few weeks apart, the star of the Nuggets and that of the Warriors cited the former captain of the Blues as a model. Just that. “It’s the best recognition,” Babac told us, a few days before the broadcast on Eurosport of his documentary “En Mission” on the Blues tournament at the Tokyo Games. “Having players of this caliber there, with in particular a player who wins the title of MVP or someone who is in the final with four rings, is a mark of recognition which is a pleasure”.

Nikola Jokic started the move first. During his interview for his second MVP title in a row, the Serb with such an atypical profile named Diaw in the players who inspired him. “When I came to the NBA, Tim Duncan,” Joker noted when asked about his role models by ESPN, picked up by Trashtalk -. “I think he’s a great player, someone you can relate to, the person you can look up to as an idol. But I’ve always looked for that something in guys who aren’t flashy. Like Dirk (Nowitzki), LaMarcus Aldridge, Boris Diaw.”

A nice tribute, especially when you know the current status of Jokic in the NBA. But a few weeks later, it was Draymond Green who put Boris Diaw back in the spotlight. In the middle of the NBA final against Boston, the charismatic leader of the Warriors explained how the former captain of the Blues, crowned European champion in 2013, had inspired him. “There were definitely guys that I took things from, and over my career I always keep watching and trying to take things from those guys. I studied Boris Diaw so much at the start of my career“,” Green blurted out. “The way he moved the ball, how he used hands to hands. More than a specific action, the way he hindered the opponent. It was very special for mei”.

MIP 2006 (note: best progression of the season in the NBA) with Phoenix then NBA champion 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs, Boris Diaw left his mark across the Atlantic with his rare ability to improve a collective, thanks to his basketball IQ in particular. If some were often annoyed not to see him being more obsessed with the basket, he knew how to make his place thanks to his unique profile and this altruism that defined him. Both in attack by his knowledge of the pass and his vision of the game as in defense, the emblematic captain of the Blues, who has developed his game over the years and his physique, had notably marked the spirits during the Finals NBA 2014 against the Heat of LeBron James where he was a poison for the Floridians by his defense and this side of attack facilitator.

To the point of inspiring Draymond Green and Nikola Jokic. And that does not leave Boris Diaw indifferent. “Leaving your mark has never been something I’ve been looking for. I never said to myself: ‘I want to be remembered for this or for that’. Or for the number of personal awards, Babac slides us with his natural humility. But there for me, it’s really the best recognition.”

A comparison with Jokic talking to him

With his role with the Warriors, Green can come close in some ways to what Diaw could bring. But it is perhaps more in Nikola Jokic that the similarities are the most visible. And Diaw does not deny this audacious comparison. “I was able to read things about what he was able to say about his philosophy of play, about his desire to be at the service of othersremembers the former Pau-Orthez player who went through INSEP with Tony Parker. I notably came across an interview with him when he was 16-17 years old and he explained that he was happy to make passes to his teammates when he had received an individual title despite the fact that he scored little. He already had that in mind at the time. He takes pleasure in pleasing his teammates. What interests him is winning and not putting himself forward.” As Boris Diaw was throughout his rich and long career.