The Denver Nuggets are facing elimination right now, but Nikola Jokic still appears to be fully committed to them regardless.
There is “zero indication” at the moment that Jokic intends to pursue a move out of Denver, veteran NBA writer Marc Stein reported this week during an appearance on the “The ALL NBA Podcast.” Stein added though that Jokic is up for an extension this summer and that legitimate concerns exist about the rest of the Nuggets’ roster right now.
Jokic has been with the Nuggets for his entire NBA career since 2015, making him one of the longest-tenured one-team players in the entire league (trailing only Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Giannis Antetokounmpo). Over that span, Jokic has experienced immense success, making eight All-Star teams, winning three NBA MVP awards, and leading Denver to the NBA title in 2023 as the Finals MVP.
But ever since that championship run, the Nuggets have won just two total playoff series and have failed to advance past the second round once. Now this season, Denver is down to the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-1 in their first-round series, meaning that they need to win three straight games (including one in Minnesota) just to keep their season alive.
Jokic is also 31 years old now, and the Nuggets badly need to maximize the remainder of his prime. On top of that, Jokic himself has not been helping matters lately with some of his recent playoff duds.
As it stands right now, Jokic is under contract for $59 million next season and can become a free agent after that by declining his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. But while Denver once hinted at the possibility of trading Jokic in a nightmare scenario, it does not appear that a split between the two sides is coming any time soon.
