HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Five years ago, Clint Capela and Nikola Jokic were teammates at the Nike Hoop Summit. Capela was a little more than two months away from being selected in the first round by the Rockets, while Jokic would be taken in the second round by the Denver Nuggets. As the two get ready to meet for the first time since Jokic's selection to the NBA All Star Game, Capela admits his success has surprised him a bit.
"I knew he was really smart, talented," Capela said Wednesday. "He had all that, but to translate that to the NBA, have that much of an impact, I would have never guessed that, and I think the way he adapted, it was really good."
Jokic enters Thursday's game at Toyota Center averaging 20.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game on a Nuggets team that is 50-23 this season, tied with the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the Western Conference. In the first year of a max contract signed in July, the Denver has center has elevated his game and his team after missing the playoffs for five straight seasons.
"He's a really smart player, knows the game. I love to play against players like that, of course, and it's a big challenge that I'm going to look forward to."
Capela missed the last matchup between the two teams in January following thumb surgery, and Jokic took advantage, hanging 31 points, on 12-of-15 shooting, 13 rebounds, and nine assists on the Rockets, snapping the Nuggets 8-game losing skid against Houston. The Rockets center averaged 27.5 points and nine rebounds in the two Rockets wins earlier this season.
Along with Capela and Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns also played on that team in Portland in 2014, and Capela says it's always fun whenever he can matchup with his old teammates.
"To play against them it's always with pride because we always remind ourselves that we were on the same team five years ago, and today we're all starters in the NBA, so it's special to get to play against them."
