In what's become tradition, the Nuggets gathered at Nikola Jokic's house on Tuesday.
Rakija was flowing.
The food was immaculate.
DeAndre Jordan went swimming in Jokic's pool.
"I feel like Joker sees greatness in our team," Peyton Watson told DNVR.
From last night: Nikola Jokic fake ties his shoe in front of the referee and Celtics inbounder to buy the Nuggets extra time to see if they should challenge the call.
Kevin Durant on Nikola Jokic: "I felt like all those shots were easy shots. He just played the game at a pace where you can’t speed him up, fluster him. He is strong. He can make every shot. I hate when he makes shots because he is so unorthodox. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah that is a…
Bruce Brown on IG Live, hungover in Vegas: "I'm down bad, and I blame Nikola Jokic."
"I don't know how I let him get me this drunk."
"I don't know what he had me drinking last night, but I blame it on 15."
Jamal Murray just shouted out Gary Harris, Monte Morris and Paul Millsap and gave them credit for establishing the culture in Denver: "It's been a journey. It's nice to finally reach this point and for this to be the first team in Nuggets history to do it."
"I think the good teams win even when they play bad, and bad teams always find a way to lose games, even when they’re up." - Nikola Jokic (January, 2023)
Michael Malone says Nikola Jokic was calling the plays down the stretch tonight. In Nuggets huddles, Jokic was telling his teammates to clear one side of the floor so he and Jamal Murray could run two-man game. "Coach Jokic did a great job tonight, said Malone.
Michael Malone on Jamal Murray: "This is not just coach and player. I love Jamal Murray. This is not just I'm coaching him. We've been together for seven years. We've been together through a lot of ups and downs...I saw the dark days coming back from the ACL. For him to be…
Nikola Jokic asked if these playoffs and being in the Finals is the most important moment in his career. He said, yes becuase of the chance to get the Nuggets' veterans -- Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan, Ish Smith -- to the Finals and a championship: "It's maybe now or never."
Huge progress in Nikola Jokic's quest to get a 3-shot foul called: NBA's L2M Report says this was an "incorrect call" should have been ruled a shooting foul.
"The illegal contact occurs during Jokic's shooting motion and should have been assessed as a shooting foul."
Michael Malone: "I've got to give a huge shoutout to the 18,000 fans at Ball Arena tonight. I remember when we couldn't get 18,000 people there when we were playing."
Michael Malone: "You win Game 1 of the playoffs, and all everybody talked about was the Lakers. Let's be honest, that was a national narrative: The Lakers were fine. They're down 1-0 but they figured something out. No one talked about that Nikola had a historic performance. He's…
After a win over the Raptors in February of Nikola Jokic’s rookie season, I asked Michael Malone how high he thought Jokic’s ceiling was — Jokic had 27 points on 12-18 shooting, which was a new career high: “I wouldn’t trade him for anyone in the world,” Malone said.
Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic: "That first Summer League in Vegas, 300 pounds, out of shape, hey, he's a nice player. No one, and if anybody tells you different they're full of shit, no one could have seen that he'd be a two-time MVP passing Wilt Chamberlain every other night."
Nikola Jokic's first three NBA Finals games of his career:
- 27 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists
- 41 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists
- 32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists
Watch Nikola Jokic diagram and run this play in real time:
1. Tells Aaron Gordon to go to the dunker spot.
2. Tells MPJ to move a step up from the corner.
3. Points KCP to the corner.
4. Points Gordon to the dunker spot again.
5. Gets the ball from Reggie Jackson and finds…
Nikola Jokic on his horses: "I like the smell of them. The best feeling ever is when you feed them. The sound of them eating in the stable is the best sound you can ever hear. It's just something that I think just a horseman can feel."
Michael Malone says Michael Porter Jr. approached him during the Phoenix series and said he's fine if Malone chooses to close games with Bruce Brown over him. "I just want to win," Porter told him.
Gary Harris was at Game 4. Monte Morris was at Game 3. Two players at the heart of the Nuggets' We Don't Skip Steps era, that were traded away for pieces that are going to help Denver win the championship, still want to support their former team. That's special. That's culture.
Nikola Jokic on raising the banner: "I missed the guys that are not with us anymore, but we as a group, we're going to be remembered for a long time. We're going to be remembered as champions. I think it's a really nice moment in life."
Do you know how hard it is to do what the Nuggets just did? In this era? In the super team era when so many teams have it so easy?
The Nuggets drafted the best duo in the NBA and one of the best duos of all-time. They did it all from scratch. They were patient and built this…
Referee Mousa Dagher, who ejected Nikola Jokic in Chicago, has not officiated an NBA game since Dec. 13 (the day after Nuggets/Bulls). He's not on the schedule for tonight's game either.
Draymond Green once called out Nikola Jokic’s defense while filling in as an analyst on TNT. Jokic went up to Green the next season, said he appreciated the criticism and told Green that he’s improved.
Green’s response: “You 100% have gotten better.”
Michael Porter Jr. on the Lakers’ adjustment to put Rui Hachimura on Nikola Jokic: “I don’t think that will be an issue for us next game. We know how to counter that.”
Nikola Jokic on appearing in the Despicable 4 teaser and arriving at the arena for Game 1 dressed like the character Gru: "I love the guy and I love the cartoon."
Nikola Jokić: "To be honest, that's why we play. I mean, that's why I play. To play this kind of game. To play under the pressure. To play tight games. I think that's what every player's dream is."
"I love to play under those circumstances."
Nikola Jokic on his first Finals game: “To be honest, I couldn’t wait for the game to start, because once it started it felt normal..I think people are making something bigger than it is. When the game started I felt really comfortable.”
We're currently waiting for Nikola Jokic to come to the podium. He's still in the Nuggets' locker room getting his eye looked at by Denver's team docs.
Nikola Jokic diagramming how he and his teammates planned to stat pad his 10th assist of the game and second hockey assist last night vs. Memphis. Jokic tells KCP that the Grizzlies game plan was to “rotate extremely hard of passes” that come from him.
Every Lakers season follows the same script.
October: “Lakers won the offseason.”
January: “Fire the coach.”
February: “Trade everybody.”
March: “Lakers won the trade deadline.”
June: “Next season is going to be different.”