In the final game of the Christmas Day slate the Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets, 110-100. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal led the way for the home side, scoring 27 points apiece to fend off NIkola Jokic's double-double performance and earn the win.

Afterwards, Durant lavished some high praise upon Jokic, declaring the Nuggets superstar "arguably the best player in the world" and a top-10 player in the history of the NBA.

"They're a physical team," Durant said of the Nuggets. "They've got arguably the best player in the world, a top-10 player of all-time in Jokic. We had our work cut out for us to start this game but I liked how we finished."

Giving Jokic that honorific is a surefire sign of respect from anybody but it feels especially so coming from KD, a known student of the game and lover of basketball. He probably makes top-10 lists for fun when he isn't on the court and for Jokic to end up there before his career is close to done goes to show how much other players respect his achievements.

It's also a pretty strong case objectively. Jokic has three MVP trophies, an NBA championship, and some of the most ludicrous statlines we've ever seen from a center in the history of the league. He is genuniely unstoppable offensively every single night and few players to step foot on the hardwood can claim to match his level of court awareness.

It still feels tough to rank Jokic all-time when he still has a ways to go before hanging up the sneakers. Not for Durant, it seems.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Declared Nikola Jokic a Top-10 Player of All Time After Suns Beat Nuggets.