The Nuggets are going home after getting eliminated from the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs following a heartbreaking 98-110 defeat to the Timberwolves in Game 6 tonight. Nikola Jokic gave it his all, but clearly it was not enough as the Timberwolves now proceed to face the Spurs in the next round.
Following the game, the Serbian big man spoke to the media and got candid about his feelings as a depleted Timberwolves roster eliminated the Nuggets.
“They were aggressive, they were pushing us out of our spots, and they rebounded really well. I couldn’t get guys open, I couldn’t make screens, I couldn’t make shots. So they were just better in everything, in every aspect of the game. We put up a fight, but we didn’t have it,” said Jokic in his initial remarks.
“Rudy is a big guy, and not just him; literally, everybody who played was offensive rebounding for them. We just didn’t do a good job, so they had 19 offensive rebounds,” said Jokic on the team’s struggles to rebound the ball. “And we turned the ball over a lot, which was messing up with us.”
Another reporter asked Jokic if he blamed himself for the loss in this series and tonight, especially.
“A lot, I need to play better, and I must play better than this. I think I was getting into the rhythm in the middle of the game, but I didn’t play much better in the first three games, just to get everybody involved and be aggressive and score. I’m going to give them credit; they were better than us in this series.”
The Serbian big man was then asked to dive into whether he still believes the Nuggets are a championship-contending roster.
“I mean, we just lost in the first round, so I think we are far away. But that’s not my decision, to be honest. Definitely, if we were in Serbia, we would all get fired,” said Jokic.
The Nuggets did not have Peyton Watson and Aaron Gordon available tonight. But according to a disappointed Jokic, that was not a major factor in leading to the loss for the Nuggets, since even the Timberwolves were arguably more depleted than the Nuggets’ roster due to injuries.
“They missed a bunch of guys tonight, and they still won. So, did we need them? Definitely. But if they’re not here, we cannot keep thinking what-if,” said Jokic before a reporter later doubled down on the question of whether injuries limited the team’s ceiling tonight.
“I don’t know because Oklahoma missed probably the most players of everybody, and they’re still number one and still dominating the league. So I hate those if situations.”
Jokic also spoke out in defense of any criticism that his head coach, David Adelman, might face due to the Nuggets’ first-round exit.
“No, it was nothing. It’s not his fault that we couldn’t rebound. It’s not his fault that we couldn’t catch the ball where we wanted. So there is nothing to blame on David Adelman. It was all us.”
Entering the final year of his guaranteed $55.3 million contract for 2026-27, Jokic also has a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 season, while now being eligible to sign an extension in the offseason. The Serbian All-Star was asked about his future with the franchise, to which he confidently responded.
“I still want to be [with the] Nuggets forever,” said Jokic, and he repeated that answer when asked if it was safe to assume he would sign an extension in the summer.
Nikola Jokic ended tonight one rebound short of a triple-double as he had 28 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, and one block while going 11-19 from the field (57.9 FG%) and 1-5 from beyond the arc (20.0 3P%).
The Serbian big man almost averaged a triple-double throughout the series, but his shooting numbers also reflect his struggles. He averaged 25.8 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 9.5 assists while going 44.6% from the field and only 19.4% from beyond the arc. This also shows how well Rudy Gobert guarded him in this series.
But clearly, Nikola Jokic, at age 31, is still capable of being the face of the Nuggets franchise, and they will not let him go anywhere and offer him anything he wants to extend his contract with them.
However, I doubt I can say the same about the rest of the team. So I would suggest keeping a close eye on the Nuggets’ roster heading into the offseason, as I anticipate several names on this team would not be there next season.
