Boban Marjanović Says He Could Beat Up Keanu Reeves

Boban Marjanović was a big part of the Dallas Mavericks' Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, putting up 13 points and nine rebounds. He was rewarded with an interview after the game with the Inside The NBA guys, and was quite excited because it was his first time doing so.

Boban is a wonderful personality and a great interview, so I'd recommend watching it all.

I would, however, like to call attention to one particular part of the interview at the 3:50 mark of the above video. The crew brought up Boban's cameo in John Wick 3, where he plays a very large fellow assassin named Ernest. He attempts to kill John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, in the New York Public Library. It's a super-awesome fight scene (if a bit violent) and ends quite poorly for Boban's character. If you have not had the pleasure, please enjoy the below clip, then go rent John Wick 3 on your favorite streaming service.

In his postgame interview, Charles Barkley asked Boban if he would be able to kick Keanu Reeves' ass if this fight happened off-script in real life. Boban, with a face-splitting grin plastered on his face, said yes immediately. Reeves knows judo and all sorts of martial arts from his various action movie roles over the last two or so decades, but I would also side with Boban here. Really, it's that one move in the John Wick fight scene where he grabs Wick's head with his hand and just throws him around. I don't think anybody can really counter that. They just have to hope Boban would let go. In the above sequence, he does, but in real life? There's no reason to.

It really is too bad Ernest ends up dead in John Wick 3, because I would have loved another appearance by Boban. Maybe they can get Joel Embiid for John Wick 5 (John Wick 4 isn't an option because it was supposed to come out in May and was delayed and I don't really want to talk about it). But outside the movie studio, I dare you to find someone you'd take over Boban in a fistfight.