WESTBROOK LOOKS UP TO JOKIC

Denver defeated but new Nugget grateful to be in same team as 'unique' Serbian star

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Veteran guard Russell Westbrook made his debut for the Denver Nuggets as they opened the National Basketball Association (NBA) pre-season with a loss to reigning champions the Boston Celtics in Abu Dhabi on Oct 4, but he was in awe of one of his new teammates.

Westbrook, a 16-year NBA veteran, said after the game that Nikola Jokic "sits in a category of his own". Playing the first of two pre-season games against the Celtics in the United Arab Emirates, the Nuggets, the 2023 NBA champions, squandered a 12-point lead and lost 107-103 to the team that took the crown at the end of last season.

Westbrook, a 35-year-old former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) and nine-time All-Star, joined the Nuggets in July after spending last season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

He shared some minutes with centre Jokic in the first half, before the Nuggets rested their starters. "As we all know, he's so unique in the sense of he's so unselfish," said Westbrook, who had 12 points and eight assists, of the three-time MVP.