While populating the Nuggets’ bench early in the 2015-16 season, Will Barton concocted a nickname for him and new teammate Nikola Jokic.
“He called us Kobe and Shaq,” Jokic recalled with a smile.
At the time, that was Barton living up to his own “Thrill” persona. But less than three years later, the versatile playmaker from Baltimore and the 7-footer from Serbia reminisced about watching each other blossom into key pieces of a young Denver team knocking on the door of its return to the NBA playoffs.
The personal reward for Jokic and Barton? Big paydays in the form of long-term contracts.