The Denver Nuggets are now 5-0 at home this season following a dominant 129-104 win over the Golden State Warriors at Ball Arena on Friday. Nikola Jokic was once again the driving force behind this win in the NBA Cup, and he also managed to steal the show postgame.
Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem asked Jokic on Prime about Aaron Gordon’s impact on the Nuggets, and he hilariously reminded him of the 2023 NBA Finals.
Udonis Haslem: “Can you just talk about the luxury of having a guy like Aaron Gordon as a great 3rd option, and just plays within the system, but he’s always impacting the game?
Nikola Jokic: “I bet you remember in the Finals… He knows where his points are. He’s really using his dominance on the smaller guys. On the defensive end, he’s literally guarding every player I think. And I think we have a luxury for having him on the team.
Jokic won’t let UD forget that 2023 #NBAFinals 😂 pic.twitter.com/dnbuN5w1PX
— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) November 8, 2025
Jokic left the panel in splits as Haslem admitted he remembers it all too well. Gordon was great in the Finals for the Nuggets against the Heat. He averaged 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 60.4% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc. The efficiency was downright ridiculous.
Gordon was at his best in the critical Game 4 of the series. The Nuggets were up 2-1 entering the contest, and he put up 27 points on 11-15 shooting from the field to power them to victory. They would go on to win Game 5 to clinch the first NBA championship in franchise history.
While Gordon impressed, Jokic unsurprisingly came away with the Finals MVP award. The seven-time All-Star averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game in the Finals. It was one of the greatest performances on the big stage in modern NBA history.
Jokic could well have bettered those numbers against the Warriors here, but he only played 28 minutes as the Nuggets were in a commanding position. The three-time MVP finished with 26 points (12-15 FG), nine rebounds, nine assists, and one block on the night.
As for Gordon, he recorded 18 points (6-12 FG), three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. The Nuggets have now improved to 6-2 and are looking like one of the best teams in the NBA.
Udonis Haslem Believes Aaron Gordon Is The Best Third Option In The NBA
There has been a lot of talk about who the best third option in the NBA is, and Haslem thinks it’s Gordon.
“Best third option in the game,” Haslem said. “… You don’t have to run anything for him, and he’s going to figure it out. He’s not sitting over there saying, ‘Hey, get me involved. I need to get going. I’m not involved.’ [He’s saying], ‘I’ll figure it out. Do what you do and I’ll figure it out.’ And he takes advantage of whatever the defense gives him.
“If you’re gonna give him the shot, he shooting the ball from the perimeter,” Haslem continued. “If you put a smaller guy on him, we saw what he did against the Miami Heat.”
Gordon had 24 points on 9-16 shooting from the field against the Heat on Wednesday. You could argue he has been the Nuggets’ second-best player for a while now, given his impact on both ends of the floor. They are indeed very fortunate to have Gordon among their ranks.
The Nuggets are in action next against the Indiana Pacers at Ball Arena on Saturday at 9 PM ET.
