Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets took down Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 136-134 in an overtime thriller at Ball Arena on Saturday. All eyes were on this titanic clash between two MVP candidates, and they did not disappoint.
Jokic and Wembanyama put on quite the show, and the Serb praised the Frenchman on Nightcap on Prime after the game.
“He’s the most unique player both sides of the floor,” Jokic said. “He challenges [you] so many ways defensively just because his ability to shoot the ball. He’s one dribble on the basket, dunking the ball, lob threat. If you’re one step, one second, one millisecond late, it’s probably a basket. He definitely challenged our defense and challenged not just our defense, the whole league to put bodies on him and to push him around.
“When he’s on defense, he’s probably [the best] defensive player of the whole NBA,” Jokic continued. “So definitely putting us in a lot of different motion, actions, flips, slips, whatever we do just to keep them off balance.”
Wembanyama had 34 points (8-17 FG), 18 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and five blocks on the night. The 22-year-old was causing havoc on both ends of the floor, and Jokic continued to sing his praises in his postgame press conference.
“I think the first time I played against him, I told you guys that he is gonna change the league, he’s going to change basketball,” Jokic said, via DNVR Nuggets. “I still obviously think that. And I think he has an opportunity and chance to be the most unique basketball player to ever play the game.”
Wembanyama is ever so special, and while he was amazing here, Jokic showed he is still the top dog. The three-time MVP had 40 points (13-25 FG), eight rebounds, 13 assists, and three blocks against the Spurs.
Jokic made plenty of incredible plays on the night, but the most spectacular one came against Wembanyama in overtime. The 31-year-old backed down the best defensive player in the game today and then hit a ridiculous turnaround fadeaway jumper over him.
Wemby can’t believe what Jokic did to him 😮 pic.twitter.com/7C9gJbDXSz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2026
Jokic might just be the only player in the NBA who can pull that off against the 7’4″ Wembanyama. The Spurs superstar has made life miserable on the court for so many players in his short time in the NBA, but he hasn’t been able to figure out a way to slow him down.
Jokic is now averaging 37.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game against Wembanyama in his career. He has been efficient in these matchups too, shooting 55.0% from the field.
With this win, Jokic also improved to 5-2 against Wembanyama. He has certainly had the upper hand up to this point.
Wembanyama was understandably disappointed to end up on the losing side once again, but he stated in his postgame media session that he enjoyed playing in that game.
“I think it was an amazing game,” Wembanyama said, via DNVR Nuggets. “Very fun. One of the most fun games. I wish we could’ve closed it out. My conclusion of this game is that it was good for us. Everything that happened tonight is good for us. It’s a real test against a team that’s actually playing for something right now. Had a little bit of playoff vibes.”
It certainly felt like a playoff game. The Spurs and Nuggets had won 11 and seven games in a row, respectively, coming into this clash. There is a good chance we’ll see these two face off in the Western Conference Semifinals, and that will be must-watch television. It’ll be the best defensive player in the NBA going up against the man he believes is the best offensive player.
“It is a little bit different than most teams, obviously,” Wembanyama said. “I mean, they got the best offensive player in the world.”
Wembanyama has called Jokic the best offensive player in the world in the past as well. He doesn’t believe he is the best player, though.
Jokic sure looked like the best in the world on this night. He helped the Nuggets improve to 50-28 on the season with this win. They’ll take on the Portland Trail Blazers next at Ball Arena on Monday at 9 p.m. ET.
As for the Spurs, they dropped to 59-19. They’ll look to get back to winning ways when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers at Frost Bank Center on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
