Michelle Beadle looked like she wanted to throw her hands up. Or maybe flip the table. During a blind ranking segment on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, the veteran broadcaster was asked to rank the greatest centers in NBA history. But there was a catch. She didn’t know which name was coming next.
The exercise forced her to commit to a spot before seeing the full list. By the end, her final order was: Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Nikola Jokic at No. 5. That’s not a bad list by any stretch. But Beadle’s reaction during the segment made it clear the format frustrated her. She was locked into decisions she probably wouldn’t have made with full context.
The clip, posted by ClutchPoints, shows Beadle working through it in real time. She had to slot Abdul-Jabbar fourth. She had to put Jokic fifth. And she visibly struggled with that. It wasn’t about disrespecting Jokic, who’s a three-time MVP and the best passing big man the league has ever seen. It was about the game itself. The blind ranking format doesn’t let you adjust. You name a guy, he sticks, and then the next name makes you wish you’d saved a higher spot.
For Nuggets fans, the real takeaway isn’t where Jokic landed. It’s that he’s even in that conversation. Shaq, Russell, Wilt, Kareem. That’s Mount Rushmore territory. Jokic being mentioned alongside them at all is a sign of how far he’s come. And the fact that Beadle was annoyed about where he ended up? That actually says more about his standing than a clean No. 5 would.
Jokic’s role in Denver keeps expanding
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are coming off a first-round playoff exit that felt premature for a team with championship expectations. Denver made a late-season coaching change, elevating David Adelman, and Jokic took on even more responsibility as the team’s emotional anchor. Cameras have caught him during timeouts, drawing up adjustments with teammates and pulling younger guys like Christian Braun aside for coaching moments. He’s joked that coaching is the worst job on the planet, but his command of the offense and his basketball IQ have made him a de facto assistant on the floor.
Jokic isn’t just Denver’s best player. He’s the guy everyone looks to when things go sideways. Another MVP-caliber season and a deep playoff run would only strengthen his case in the all-time center debate — a conversation that’s already getting heated, and one that Beadle’s blind ranking accidentally underscored.
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