The undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves stunningly knocked the Denver Nuggets out of the playoffs in the first round with a 110-98 win in Game 6 at Target Center on Thursday. This was an embarrassing playoff exit for the Nuggets, and superstar center Nikola Jokic was asked postgame whether he still plans on staying with the team for the rest of his career.
“I still want to be Nuggets forever,” Jokic said, via DNVR Sports.
The Nuggets had selected Jokic with the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The Serb had never really expressed a desire to leave at any point, and then made it clear back in March that he doesn’t even want to imagine leaving Denver to play for another team.
Jokic led the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in 2023 and said that one organic title means more than anything for him. He was staying even if they don’t win again. It’s rare to see such loyalty in today’s NBA.
Jokic did not comment on whether he’d sign an extension this summer, though. The three-time MVP had decided against signing a three-year, $212 million extension in the 2025 offseason, as he was going to be eligible for a four-year deal worth about $293 million in this one.
When asked about signing the extension this time around, Jokic simply repeated his earlier answer.
“I still want to be Nuggets forever,” Jokic said.
There is no reason to sound the alarm, but the Nuggets certainly would be hoping Jokic signs the extension. The 31-year-old will now be entering the fourth year of the five-year, $276 million deal he signed in 2022.
Jokic has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, so as things stand, he can hit free agency in 2027. There will be some tension in the air in Denver if the eight-time All-Star hasn’t put pen to paper on a new deal by the time next season commences. As for this one, it ended about as poorly as it could have.
The Nuggets were one of the hottest teams in the NBA entering the playoffs, having ended the regular season on a 12-game win streak. They then beat the Timberwolves 116-105 in Game 1 and looked set to take a 2-0 lead. The Nuggets were up 19 points in the second quarter of Game 2, but blew that advantage and lost 119-114.
The Timberwolves then dominated Game 3 to go up 2-1, but suffered some hammer blows in Game 4. Donte DiVincenzo ruptured his right Achilles tendon minutes into the game, and Anthony Edwards sustained a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee in the second quarter.
Those unfortunate injuries set the stage for the Nuggets to tie the series, but they still lost 112-96 to go down 3-1. They would capitalize on Edwards and DiVincenzo’s absence to win Game 5 at home, but couldn’t repeat that feat here. Now, overturning a 3-1 is extremely difficult, but it had never been easier than it was for these Nuggets.
To go with Edwards and DiVincenzo, the Timberwolves were also without Ayo Dosunmu, who had 43 points in Game 4, and Kyle Anderson here. The game was on a platter for the Nuggets, and they still came up short.
Jokic had 28 points (11-19 FG), nine rebounds, 10 assists, and one block in Game 6. He was good, but the Nuggets needed him to be great.
All in all, this was one of the worst playoff series of Jokic’s career. He averaged 25.8 points, 13.2 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game against the Timberwolves, but shot just 44.6% from the field and 19.4% from beyond the arc.
Jokic rightly took responsibility postgame when asked why the Timberwolves emerged victorious in the series.
“They were aggressive, they were pushing us out of our spots, they rebounded really well,” Jokic said. “I couldn’t get guys open, I couldn’t make screen, I couldn’t make shot. So they were just better basically in every aspect of the game. We put up a fight, but we didn’t have it.”
This defeat sets up an interesting offseason for the Nuggets. There will be calls to blow up the roster, and they probably do need to make major changes. Will they? Time will tell.
