What did Lisa Salters say about Nikola Jokic? Exploring viral statement of NBA analyst that took heat on social media

Lisa Salters of ESPN recently found herself in hot water with NBA fans during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. Salters worked as a sideline reporter for the Denver Nuggets during their second-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

It allowed her to observe Nikola Jokic's game up close for the first time. The only issue was that Lisa Salters' remarks made it appear as if she had never seen the two-time MVP play.

During the full clip, she explained that she hadn't been to cover a game in Denver for at least 10 years, giving more context to her statements. From the sounds of things, it may not be that Lisa Salters have never seen Jokic play, she simply hasn't seen him play live.

Fans have continued to debate whether or not Lisa Salters meant she hadn't seen Jokic play live, or whether she truly had never watched him play period. You can read her full comments in their entirety below and decide for yourself:

“I have never seen him play before. I haven’t done a game here in Denver. It’s been at least 10 years. Maybe I had a game of theirs in the bubble. I think I did, but this is really the first time I’ve had a chance to watch him play, and I’ve got to admit, I have been sleeping on this guy. He is spectacular.

"He is ridiculously good and is unstoppable. Just watching him play last night I was texting people saying, 'You know what, this guy is really good.' And they're like, 'We've been trying to tell you that.' And I admit, I hadn't really been paying much attention.

"I haven't had any games with Denver, either on the road or with them here at home so I hadn't really paid much attention to him. Of course, I know all of the great things that people say about him I know his stat lines, I know his numbers."

Michael Malone makes a vague reference to Lisa Salters comments

Throughout the course of the postseason, and most recently in the Denver Nuggets Western Conference Finals matchup with the LA Lakers, Jokic has been dominant. With his seventh triple-double of the 2023 postseason, the two-time MVP has tied Wilt Chamberlain for the most in a single postseason.

After a big Game 2 win, coach Michael Malone spoke about Jokic's recent performances with a statement many took to be in reference to Lisa Salters.

(Suggested Reading: Michael Malone talks Game 2 win over LA)

“There are people who are still kind of being introduced to who Nikola Jokic is and the guy just put on a 34-21-14 performance and, oh, by the way, he’s averaging a triple-double in the playoffs,”

From the sounds of things, thanks to their impressive wins over the Lakers, the Denver Nuggets now find themselves as favorites to win the NBA Championship. With the Boston Celtics looking to tie things up in the Eastern Conference Finals, the predictions for how this postseason will play out have continued to fly.

As Denver continues to look to silence the doubters and make their presence felt, they sit just two games away from reaching the NBA Finals.

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