Denver Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur played with Grizzlies’ center Marc Gasol, who will one day be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame, for four seasons. He saw the work Gasol put in day in and day out on the practice court firsthand and the success Gasol had in the playoffs taking Memphis to the Western Conference semifinals in 2011 (Arthur’s rookie year) and the conference finals in 2013.

Arthur thinks Nikola Jokic can be better than Gasol. He also believes Jokic will join Gasol one day in Springfield.

In an appearance on the BSN Nuggets Podcast, Arthur recalled a flashbulb moment three years ago when he first watched Jokic play and saw the potential he had.

“I saw it years ago when he first came in three years ago when we were in Philadelphia for Jameer Nelson’s team bonding thing,” Arthur said. “I knew right away he was going to be good. He wasn’t taking any shots or anything like that but he was making great passes and good reads and stuff like that and I said ‘This kid’s going to be good.’ And he turns out to be a star. He has a great upside to him and I know he’ll be a Hall-of-Famer once he’s done playing.

“He’s something special. I played with Marc, they kind of have similar games but Nikola, the way he moves the basketball and the vision that he has on the court is on another level. I haven’t seen anybody else with that skill-set at a young age.”

Listen to Arthur’s full appearance on the BSN Nuggets Podcast below.

You can also subscribe to the podcast here: iTunes | Stitcher | Pocket Casts