<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-shams-nikola-jokic-trade-speculation-to-bed');   ga('set', 'title', 'Shams puts all Nuggets Nikola Jokic trade speculation to bed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jokic-complains.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Shams puts all Nuggets Nikola Jokic trade speculation to bed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-25T10:27:39-07:00">June 25th, 10:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-25T10:27:39-07:00">June 25th, 10:27am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Tuesday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-josh-kroenke-bizarrely-mentions-nikola-jokic-trade-scenario">Denver Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke raised some eyebrows</a> by insinuating that if things get bad enough down the line, the team may <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-nightmare-scenario-lead-nikola-jokic-trade">consider trading Nikola Jokic</a>. The unprompted comment drew a wide range of criticism from Nuggets fans, who do not want to follow in the footsteps of the Dallas Mavericks in terms of trading their franchise superstar.</p><p>Recently, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania stopped by the Pat McAfee Show and, thankfully for Denver fans, <a href="https://x.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1937915222552883341" rel="noopener">put those rumors to bed.</a></p><p>“I know personally that Josh Kroenke would never consider or want to trade Nikola Jokic.. People around Denver know that and Jokic doesn’t want to be traded,” said Charania.</p><p>It still remains unknown why Kroenke even floated the trade as a possibility given that the media present at the press conference didn’t ask him about the doomsday scenario.</p><h2><b>A crucial summer for the Nuggets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Nuggets-front-office-not-sure-Nikola-Jokic-sign-contract-extension.jpg"><figcaption>© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While the Nuggets may not have any plans to trade their best player in franchise history, it’s not difficult to envision Jokic putting some pressure on the front office over the coming months if the team is unable to put an adequate roster around him.</p><p>Jamal Murray’s play has dipped considerably since his epic run during the 2023 NBA playoffs, and the Nuggets have also seen multiple crucial pieces from that championship core walk out the door in free agency over the last two summers.</p><p>While Christian Braun and Peyton Watson have shown some promising signs of forming a new, younger foundation around Jokic, their improvement wasn’t enough to help propel the Nuggets past the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in this year’s playoffs.</p><p>The pressure is now on the Nuggets’ brass to figure out a way to put the right pieces around Jokic so that they don’t waste any more of the best player in the NBA’s prime.</p><p>Whether that’s through free agency or trades in the coming weeks, Jokic and fans alike are probably hoping that the Nuggets look considerably different by the time next season rolls around.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Shams puts all Nuggets Nikola Jokic trade speculation to bed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-nightmare-scenario-lead-nikola-jokic-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets’ nightmare scenario that would lead to unthinkable Nikola Jokic trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Denver-Nuggets-center-Nikola-Jokic-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nuggets’ nightmare scenario that would lead to unthinkable Nikola Jokic trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-24T14:32:49-07:00">June 24th, 2:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T14:32:49-07:00">June 24th, 2:32pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Denver Nuggets came as close as anyone did to defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs. Nikola Jokic and Co. pushed the NBA champions to a seventh game in their second round series. Unfortunately, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-michael-porter-jr-confesses-harsh-reality-shoulder-injury">injuries to Michael Porter Jr.</a> and Aaron Gordon resulted in an 125-93 blowout. Heading into the offseason, Nuggets president Josh Kroenke is cautious.</p><p>In his end-of-season press conference, Kroenke expressed his concern over how to approach the offseason. According to him, Denver’s <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937603210614833636" rel="noopener">injury problems need to be considered</a> when deciding whether or not to go into the second apron.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The wrong person gets injured, and very quickly you're into a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that's trading #15."</p><p>Nuggets President Josh Kroenke on Nikola Jokic and navigating around the second apron 🤯<a href="https://t.co/Xz5Rt3t8gp">pic.twitter.com/Xz5Rt3t8gp</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1937603210614833636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I think that for us as an organization, going into that second apron is not necessarily something that we’re scared of,” Kroenke said. “I think that there are rules around it that we need to be very careful of with our injury history. The wrong person gets injured and very quickly you’re in a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate, and that’s trading #15.”</p><p>Teams that are in the first and second apron are extremely limited when it comes to their financial flexibility. With a team with as many big contracts as Denver has, it is important that they build smartly around them, either through the NBA Draft or via smart trades.</p><p>However, things could go south. Here is a path that could end in Kroenke having to at least consider trading Jokic away.</p><h2>1. One of Denver’s stars gets injured</h2><p>While the Nuggets did not see any of their players tear an ACL in the postseason, they dealt with injuries. Porter Jr. nor <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-aaron-gordon-makes-confession-playing-through-injury-game-7">Gordon were nowhere near 100% entering Game 7</a> against the Thunder. The result was a lackluster effort that left Nuggets fans wondering where they could turn moving forward.</p><p>Both players expect to be fully healthy heading into next season, but the threat of re-injury looms large. If Gordon, Porter Jr., or Jamal Murray go down with a serious injury, even Jokic’s excellence might not be enough to carry the Nuggets deep into the postseason.</p><p>Almost every team in the Western Conference believes that they are ready to seriously contend for a title. As long as Denver has a healthy Jokic on their roster, they are included in that conversation. The two-time MVP had a legitimate argument to win his third this season and is regarded as the best player in the NBA. However, all it takes is one tragic play for that all to change.</p><h2>2. The Nuggets’ young talent does not develop</h2><p>Since they drafted Nikola Jokic with the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the Nuggets have struggled to identify top-tier prospects. Selections like Christian Braun and Porter Jr. have been good, but players like Zeke Nnaji and Jalen Pickett have underwhelmed so far. In an NBA world where the draft is more important than ever, Kroenke’s team cannot afford to keep missing.</p><p>For better or worse, Denver does not have to worry about the NBA Draft this season. The Nuggets have no picks unless they decide to trade for one on the night of the draft. However, they will have a rookie play for them next season in DaRon Holmes. The former Dayton Flyer tore his ACL during Summer League and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-daron-holmes-ii-suffers-devastating-achilles-injury-nba-summer-league-debut">has not played a single minute with Denver</a>.</p><p>The Nuggets have surrounded Jokic and the starting lineup with young players with high potential. However, the team needs that potential to be realized in order to compete without climbing into the second apron.</p><h2>3. Nikola Jokic becomes unhappy</h2><p>Jokic has said throughout his career that he enjoys playing in Denver and does not want to leave the Nuggets. The Serbian center still has three years left on his current deal. However, he has not yet signed his extension, which could be a power move to put some pressure on Kroenke and the front office. Pleasing their star has become more important than ever for modern NBA teams.</p><p>Even if Denver struggles out of the gate and can’t recover, Jokic asking for a trade is unlikely. However, if the All-NBA big man decides that his best chance to win a title lies elsewhere, there is little the Nuggets can do to stop him.</p><p>If he did become available most of, if not all, of the teams in the league would be interested. A Jokic trade would mark the end of an era in Denver, sending them back into another rebuild.</p><p>What Kroenke alluded to is the worst-case scenario for the Nuggets. However, if Denver is not careful with their future, it could easily become their reality.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nuggets’ nightmare scenario that would lead to unthinkable Nikola Jokic trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-denver-front-office-not-sure-nikola-jokic-sign-contract-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets front office ‘not sure’ if Nikola Jokic will sign contract extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Nuggets-front-office-not-sure-Nikola-Jokic-sign-contract-extension.jpg"><figcaption>© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nuggets front office ‘not sure’ if Nikola Jokic will sign contract extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-24T13:54:56-07:00">June 24th, 1:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T13:54:56-07:00">June 24th, 1:54pm</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets">The Denver Nuggets</a> are “definitely” offering three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic a lucrative contract extension this offseason, but they’re apparently not convinced he will sign it.</p><p>While speaking with the media today, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-josh-kroenke-bizarrely-mentions-nikola-jokic-trade-scenario">Nuggets CEO and president Josh Kroenke</a><a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Nuggets/status/1937576674125603053" rel="noopener"> introduced some doubt that</a> Jokic would put pen to paper this summer.</p><p>“We’re definitely going to offer it,” Kroenke said of the extension. “I’m not sure if he’s going to accept it or not because we’re also going to explain every financial parameter around him signing now versus signing later, be completely transparent, that’s the way we always are, and that he makes the best decision for himself and his family, and we’ll support him in it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Kroenke on Nikola Jokic’s potential contact extension this summer:</p><p>“We’re definitely going to offer it. I’m not sure if he’s going to accept it or not.”</p><p>Jokic could sign this summer or later depending on what the financial numbers look like. <a href="https://t.co/vlzFnIqlcU">pic.twitter.com/vlzFnIqlcU</a></p><p>— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) <a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Nuggets/status/1937576674125603053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The reason why Jokic may want to wait to sign his extension is that, if he were to sign this summer, the extension would be worth around $213 million over three years. Those three years would be added onto the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/players/9a2908b3/nikola-jokic/contract">backend of his current deal</a>, negating the $62.8 million player option in 2027-28, the season in which the new extension would begin. That deal would then run from 2027 until 2030.</p><p>If he chooses to wait until next offseason to sign the extension, he would still get the same first-year salary (projected to be $65.5 million) in 2027-28. However, he would be able to sign for four years, instead of three, and thus guarantee himself more than $80 million in the final year of the deal. The extension would run until 2031, when Jokic will be 36 years old.</p><p>Theoretically, Jokic could hold off on signing any contract extension and become an unrestricted free agent in 2027. That would give him, as long as he remains at the top of his game and healthy, as much leverage as he can possibly get. If he decides to stay in Denver, re-signing with the team in 2027, he could ink a five-year supermax worth more than $380 million. The deal would extend until he was 37 years old.</p><p>Waiting is a risk, though. While players of Jokic’s caliber are more well-equipped and positioned to take those risks, Jokic may not want to play two more entire seasons and postseasons without the fallback of a lucrative deal guaranteed to him until the next decade.</p><p>Jokic finished second in MVP voting this season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-bold-plan-beating-nikola-jokic-mvp">behind Shai-Gilgeous Alexander</a>, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-nba-finals-pacers-eerily-similar-nuggets-series">whose Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Nuggets</a> in the second round of the playoffs en route to an NBA championship.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nuggets front office ‘not sure’ if Nikola Jokic will sign contract extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-josh-kroenke-bizarrely-mentions-nikola-jokic-trade-scenario');   ga('set', 'title', 'Josh Kroenke bizarrely brings up Nuggets-Nikola Jokic trade scenario');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Nikola-Jokic-of-the-Denver-Nuggets-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Josh Kroenke bizarrely brings up Nuggets-Nikola Jokic trade scenario</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-24T12:44:28-07:00">June 24th, 12:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-24T14:02:45-07:00">June 24th, 2:02pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-sent-deandre-jordan-selfie-with-horse-offseason">Denver Nuggets enter the offseason</a> with the goal of building around superstar center Nikola Jokic to get back to title contention. However, on Tuesday, team president and governor Josh Kroenke brought up a scenario where the organization trades Jokic completely unprompted.</p><p>While discussing the strategy of acquiring players to continue building the roster, Kroenke mentioned that avoiding injuries is a key issue for Denver moving forward. He mentioned that a worst-case scenario for the Nuggets would be that the team <a href="https://x.com/jokicgoatic15/status/1937578346902405448" rel="noopener">suffers so many injuries</a> that the front office must trade Nikola Jokic away.</p><p>“I think that for us, as an organization, going into that second apron is not necessarily something that we’re scared of. I think that there are rules around it that we need to be very careful of with our injury history.</p><p>“The wrong person gets injured, and very quickly you’re in a scenario where, that I never want to have to contemplate, and that’s trading No. 15. We’re very conscious of that pushing forward.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="zxx"><a href="https://t.co/Q6w0oQNo4h">https://t.co/Q6w0oQNo4h</a> <a href="https://t.co/nnMdzqFn3m">pic.twitter.com/nnMdzqFn3m</a></p><p>— Jokicism 🃏 (@jokicgoatic15) <a href="https://twitter.com/jokicgoatic15/status/1937578346902405448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>So it doesn’t sound like Nikola Jokic is up for trade this offseason, but with all 30 teams making moves and decisions to upgrade their respective rosters, why even mention it? Overall, Kroenke is simply playing out a scenario out loud that could force the Nuggets to trade the three-time MVP.</p><p>Jokic, who is 30 years old, is widely viewed as the best player in the world. So it’s hard to fathom the idea of the Nuggets trading him away. He’s been nothing but a superstar talent for Denver and arguably deserved to win his fourth MVP Award for his efforts this season.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-wild-joker-origin-story-mike-miller">Nikola Jokic ended</a> the 2024-25 campaign averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game while owning a 57.6% field-goal percentage and shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc.</p><p>The Nuggets are more than likely to keep Jokic on the roster for the long haul. But it’s just odd that Kroenke would bring up a trade possibility in front of media members, especially considering there have been no rumors about teams actively trying to trade for the seven-time All-Star.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Josh Kroenke bizarrely brings up Nuggets-Nikola Jokic trade scenario

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-nuggets-tried-nikola-jokic-kevin-durant-team-up');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Nuggets tried for Nikola Jokic-Kevin Durant team-up');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Durant-and-Jokic.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Nuggets tried for Nikola Jokic-Kevin Durant team-up</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-22T11:17:04-07:00">June 22nd, 11:17am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-22T11:17:04-07:00">June 22nd, 11:17am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Sunday afternoon, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-kevin-durant-trade-suns-jalen-green">Kevin Durant trade saga</a> came to an end when the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-phoenixs-kevin-durant-trades-killed-roster">Phoenix Suns dealt the superstar</a> to the Houston Rockets in exchange for a package including Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and draft compensation. The deal, originally reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, gives the Rockets a chance to compete for an NBA championship while signaling the end of a disappointing era in Phoenix.</p><p>While the Rockets were long rumored to be one of the major candidates for a potential Durant trade, recently, Charania reported on <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45561747/sources-suns-trading-kevin-durant-rockets-blockbuster-deal" rel="noopener">some other teams</a> who reportedly threw their hat into the ring, including one that may raise NBA fans’ eyebrows.</p><p>“Several other wild-card suitors emerged as well — including the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets, sources said,” per Charania.</p><p>That’s right–the Denver Nuggets apparently tried their hand at aquiring Durant, which would have marked a seisemic shift in the Western Conference.</p><p>However, Charania noted that “with Durant on an expiring, $54.7 million contract and eligible for a new two-year extension after the trade, the league’s market for him clearly showed his ability to dictate whether he wanted to play for a franchise long term.”</p><h2><b>What could have been for the Nuggets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Nikola-Jokic-facilitates-the-offense.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Nuggets have made no secret of the fact that they are looking to rebuild themselves into a championship contender around Nikola Jokic this offseason.</p><p>Trading for Durant would have given them a chance to do just that, giving Jokic the first truly elite wing scorer he would have played with in his career and re-opening their championship window for the next couple of years.</p><p>However, as Charania noted, Durant was largely in control of the decision-making process for the Suns, and it’s also worth considering whether Phoenix’s asking price was too high for what the Nuggets would have been willing to give up.</p><p>Regardless, Nuggets fans will likely lose some sleep thinking about what the team would have looked like with Durant in the fold.</p><p>Meanwhile, Durant and his new Rockets team will look to take another step forward in the Western Conference after securing the second seed a year ago.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Nuggets tried for Nikola Jokic-Kevin Durant team-up

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-sent-deandre-jordan-selfie-with-horse-offseason');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic sent DeAndre Jordan a selfie with horse during offseason');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Nikola-Jokic-sent-DeAndre-Jordan-a-selfie-with-a-horse-during-offseason.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic sent DeAndre Jordan a selfie with horse during offseason</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-13T09:42:47-07:00">June 13th, 9:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-13T13:44:34-07:00">June 13th, 1:44pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets endured an emotionally draining 2024-25 NBA season, one that included endless speculation and a number of exhilarating moments. When the 2025 NBA Finals conclude, it is possible this squad will have come within one win from eliminating the champions in the playoffs. And yet, there are still trying roster issues that management must address this summer. The players are not focused on that just yet, though.</p><p>This is a time to decompress after a long campaign. You don’t have to tell Jokic. The 2023 Finals MVP and three-time regular season MVP knows how to make the most of his NBA hiatus, as he lets loose in his native Serbia. The man is passionate about his family, friends, culture, and of course, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nikola-jokic-passion-for-horse-racing-once-made-him-quit-basketball">his beloved horses</a>.</p><p>When chatting with FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” upcoming Nuggets free agent and veteran center DeAndre Jordan revealed <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1933542946919379133" rel="noopener">the last contact he made</a> with Jokic.</p><p>“I talked to him maybe like a week or so ago — he sent me a picture of him with a horse,” the 2016 All-NBA First-Team selection said, via ClutchPoints. “Like a selfie of him and the horse together. And I was like ‘alright, have fun brother.'”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"He sent me a picture of him with a horse. A selfie, him and the horse together. I was like, 'Alright have fun, brother.'"</p><p>DeAndre Jordan on Nikola Jokic's summer in Serbia so far 😅🐎</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/RunItBackFDTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RunItBackFDTV</a>)<a href="https://t.co/aC9wyry7Qn">pic.twitter.com/aC9wyry7Qn</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1933542946919379133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic lives it up in Serbia</b></h2><p>What appeals to fans most about Jokic, at least from a non-basketball standpoint, is his authenticity. His personality does not fit the mold of what the league and public expects from the face of the NBA, which is why the search for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/ranking-players-to-be-next-face-of-nba">LeBron James’ successor</a> is ongoing, but the sensational seven-footer is a multifaceted individual.</p><p>Despite his understated nature in front of the cameras, Nikola Jokic is clearly committed to every challenge he tackles. He led Denver through an erratic season that saw the organization fire head coach Michael Malone less than two weeks before the playoffs started. The five-time All-NBA First-Teamer pushed through the ups and downs, performing at a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-historic-larry-bird-company-mvp-snub">historically magnificent level</a> for most of the year — averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range.</p><p>But when the season ends, Jokic is able to compartmentalize and enjoy what else life has to offer. The Nuggets need their franchise keystone to feel rejuvenated once the new campaign begins, for they know how heavy a workload he must carry in order for them to reach their ceiling. If his correspondence with DeAndre Jordan is any indication, it seems like Jokic will come into training camp emotionally recharged.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic sent DeAndre Jordan a selfie with horse during offseason

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-mark-daigneault-nikola-jokic-move');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso drops ‘mad scientist’ take on Mark Daigneault after Nikola Jokic move');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-Nuggets-All-Star-Nikola-Jokic.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Alex Caruso drops ‘mad scientist’ take on Mark Daigneault after Nikola Jokic move</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-08T17:27:10-07:00">June 8th, 5:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-08T17:27:10-07:00">June 8th, 5:27pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the NBA Finals, their toughest playoff series in the Western Conference was the semifinals against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets pushed the Thunder to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-drops-nuggets-truth-bomb-after-game-7">seven games before Oklahoma City emerged victorious</a>. One of the Thunder’s adjustments that was credited as being a key turning point in the series was Mark Daigneault’s decision to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-was-ready-die-court-nikola-jokic">put Alex Caruso on Nikola Jokic defensively</a>.</p><p>Mark Daigneault’s decision to put Alex Caruso on Nikola Jokic defensively did not occur until Game 7 of the Thunder’s series against the Nuggets. Ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Thunder and the Indiana Pacers Caruso spoke about Daigneault’s willingness to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45460388/how-alex-caruso-went-okc-g-league-core-defensive-veteran-finals-playoff-run" rel="noopener">tinker and make adjustments</a> in the playoffs, as per Tim McMahon of ESPN.</p><p>“It’s a lot of fun because he’s a mad scientist genius that likes to tweak and maneuver and find little, minute details and disciplines that you can exploit,” said Caruso.</p><p>Caruso was tasked with covering Jokic defensively throughout the series, but only as primarily a help defender to swarm the Nuggets star when he caught the ball. Game 7 though he was matched up one-on-one with the three-time MVP.</p><p>The Thunder’s acquisition of Caruso in the offseason is one of the big reasons why they have transformed into a legitimate title contender. Caruso played a key role during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2020 championship run.</p><p>Through 17 playoff games for the Thunder thus far, Caruso has been playing a little over 22 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals with splits of 45.2 percent shooting from the field, 40.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 76.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>During the playoffs, Daigneault spoke about the feel that Caruso brings on the court.</p><p>“He’s constantly filling the space with that kind of stuff, which in a way allows space for other people to still exist,” Daigneault said. “Sometimes you get a veteran player and they feel like they have to be the veteran. They’re holding court and it can really suffocate the oxygen of everybody else. He has an unbelievable feel. I don’t even know if he does it consciously, but he’s got a great feel for being able to get his points in, be very constant with his communication, but in a way that isn’t claustrophobic.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso drops ‘mad scientist’ take on Mark Daigneault after Nikola Jokic move

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/7-foot-2-center-china-hansen-yang-comparisons-3-time-mvp-nikola-jokic');   ga('set', 'title', '7-foot-2 NBA draft prospect from China drawing comparisons to 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/743347050-nikola-jokic-mvp-2021.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Image Images</figcaption></figure><h1>7-foot-2 NBA draft prospect from China drawing comparisons to 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-04T20:30:22-07:00">June 4th, 8:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-05T07:11:54-07:00">June 5th, 7:11am</time><address><a>Derick Quinanola</a>With a proficient background in basketball, NFL, and football, Derick Quinanola uses his knowledge to write blogs for readers that are both entertaining and informative. He has been writing with ClutchPoints for years and has developed an understanding of the type of content fans resonate with.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Scouts were always high on the prospects entering the 2025 NBA draft. For the majority of the 2024-2025 season, 7-foot-2 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/dukes-7-2-center-khaman-maluach-enters-2025-nba-draft-as-biggest-mystery">Hansen Yang fell into the category of a mystery player</a> or a ‘draft and stash’ prospect.</p><p>People were skeptical about whether Yang’s dominance in China could translate to the NBA. However, everyone’s perception of Yang changed once the NBA draft combine and Klutch Pro Day came around.</p><h2>Who is 2025 NBA Draft prospect Hansen Yang?</h2><p>Yang has flown under the radar on most draft boards, not just because of the surplus of talent in this year’s class, but for three main reasons:</p><p>– Limited sample size in his game.<br>– Recent track record of Chinese players playing in the NBA<br>– Inferior competition</p><p>Born in 2005, Yang isn’t following the mold of slender, 7-foot unicorns who shoot threes all game. Yang is more of an old-school big who relies on his IQ and soft touch to generate offense.</p><p>Yang is currently in his second season in the CBA. In his first 10 games with the Qingdao Eagles, he averaged 16.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game. Last season as a rookie, Yang averaged similar numbers and won Defensive Player of the Year.</p><p>Last April, the NBA and ESPN released their <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44569663/2025-nba-mock-draft-first-round-picks-predictions-march-madness-ncaa-mens-tournament-cooper-flagg" rel="noopener">latest mock drafts</a>. Both had Yang as a <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/bleacher-report-latest-mock-draft-after-lottery-odds-announced-and-cooper-flagg-declares">late second-round pick</a>, around the late 40s to early 50s. At the draft Combine, Yang was determined to change the narrative.</p><p>As a player whose perceived weakness is with his lateral speed and quickness, Yang finished in the top 5 among centers in all dynamic performance tests. This includes the shuttle run, lane agility drill, and 3/4 sprint.</p><h2>Why Yang has been compared to the likes of Alperen Sengun, Nikola Vucevic, and Nikola Jokic</h2><p>The comparisons were always there. Most scouts just refused to give in to the hype because of his competition. During the combine, Yang’s bag was on full display. On a day when most people pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of the projected top picks of the draft, Yang’s play <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/2025-nba-draft-hansen-yang-no-sleeper-future-star" rel="noopener">took the headlines</a>.</p><p>He showed that he can extend his range, score (and defend) in the post against stronger centers, and deliver accurate passes.</p><p>There’s still a lot more scouts need to see from Yang in the coming days. Luckily, he is represented by Klutch Sports. If for some odd reason he won’t hear his name called on draft night, Rich Paul most likely has something up his sleeve that ensures Yang is in the best situation for him to develop and make an NBA roster.</p><p>If so, he could <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nuggets-news-michael-malone-breaks-silence-on-nikola-jokic-getting-drafted-during-taco-bell-commercial">become a steal like Jokic</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

7-foot-2 NBA draft prospect from China drawing comparisons to 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-demarcus-cousins-reveals-nbas-issue-nikola-jokic');   ga('set', 'title', 'DeMarcus Cousins reveals NBA’s major issue with Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jokic-on-the-bench.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>DeMarcus Cousins reveals NBA’s major issue with Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-04T10:12:21-07:00">June 4th, 10:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-04T10:12:21-07:00">June 4th, 10:12am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Recently, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-jamal-murray-makes-100-championship-declaration-after-game-7-loss">Denver Nuggets’ season came to an end</a> with a crushing Game 7 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-jamal-murray-message-to-shai-gilgeous-alexander-after-game-7">loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder</a>. Despite the setback, it was an impressive run for the Nuggets considering they had fired their coach and general manager just days before the regular season ended.</p><p>It was also a (mostly) impressive series for big man Nikola Jokic, who helped his team push Oklahoma City much further than any other team has been able to in this postseason.</p><p>Despite his greatness and three MVP awards, Jokic hasn’t been mentioned much in the discussion of who the current “face of the NBA” is, and recently, former Nuggets big man DeMarcus Cousins theorized on why that <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1930282143311376403" rel="noopener">may be the case.</a></p><p>“As great as he is, you can’t sell him…he doesn’t care about the spotlight,” said Cousins, per FanDuel’s Run It Back Show.</p><p>Indeed, Jokic has garnered a reputation over the years for simply showing up to work and keeping it about the business. The Nuggets star spends most of his offseasons in his native Serbia and doesn’t have any presence on social media.</p><p>In today’s digital age, that makes him not the easiest player to market for the NBA, despite his undeniable brilliance on the court.</p><h2><b>Where do the Nuggets go from here?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Nikola-Jokic-of-the-Denver-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In the weeks since their loss to the Thunder, the Nuggets have already made some important decisions, including removing the interim tag from head coach David Adelman, who was Michael Malone’s replacement at the end of the season.</p><p>While the Nuggets may have kept things more competitive with the Thunder than anyone else did, it’s still clear that the team is missing a piece or two to truly maximize all of Jokic’s talents.</p><p>Whether that means moving on from players like Michael Porter Jr. or even Jamal Murray in the hopes of finding a more consistent number two option remains to be seen.</p><p>However, don’t expect Jokic to be too public about his wishlist for this upcoming offseason.</p><p>The Nuggets will now look ahead to the NBA Draft, which is slated for the end of this month.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

DeMarcus Cousins reveals NBA’s major issue with Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-wild-joker-origin-story-mike-miller');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nikola Jokic’s wild ‘Joker’ origin story from Mike Miller');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Nikola-Jokic-of-the-Denver-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nikola Jokic’s wild ‘Joker’ origin story from Mike Miller</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-02T17:39:37-07:00">June 2nd, 5:39pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-02T17:39:37-07:00">June 2nd, 5:39pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Nikola Jokic wasn’t always known as “Joker.” It’s a nickname that came to fruition once he got into the NBA. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-novak-djokovic-shuts-down-nikola-jokic-narrative">The Denver Nuggets star</a> has never revealed exactly how he was given that nickname and hasn’t spoken much about it. On Monday, former NBA shooting guard Mike Miller revealed how “Joker” came to be.</p><p>During a guest appearance on the “Podcast P with Paul George” podcast, Miller revealed that <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1929689713599779096" rel="noopener">he was the one</a> who gave Nikola Jokic the “Joker” nickname. He claims he couldn’t pronounce Jokic’s name smoothly enough when demanding that the ball be passed to him. So, he started calling the 30-year-old center “Joker” for short.</p><p>“I gave him the nickname ‘The Joker’ because I couldn’t say, ‘Jokic past the f****** ball.’ So I said, ‘Joker, pass the ball.’ His personality and the way he plays, he’s like a joker. Every time I saw him, man, that’s a joke. And I literally couldn’t say Jokic fast enough to pass it. So, Joker was it.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I gave him the nickname 'The Joker' because I couldn't say, 'Jokic past the f*cking ball.' So I said, 'Joker pass the ball.'"</p><p>Mike Miller on how he came up with the nickname for former Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokic 🃏</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/PodcastPShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PodcastPShow</a>)<a href="https://t.co/2mjzOEVmfi">pic.twitter.com/2mjzOEVmfi</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1929689713599779096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Miller also credited Nikola Jokic for his work ethic in the gym, despite the memes online joking that the Nuggets’ star doesn’t care about playing basketball due to his demeanor. The former NBA guard admitted that the three-time MVP is one of the hardest-working individuals in the league and believes that’s why he’s one of the best players in the world.</p><p>“For real though, all that ‘he doesn’t really care about basketball…’ Talk about routines and habits, that man literally was [always there]. I was always the first one. He was literally there every single day at the same time, with the trainer Ogi in Denver. Doing the same thing every single day.”</p><p>Jokic’s hard work has certainly paid off. Not only has he won the MVP award three times, but he’s also a seven-time All-Star and led Denver to its first NBA championship in the 2022-23 season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-david-adelman-what-needs-change-denver">The Nuggets will have a busy offseason</a>, as the front office hopes to build a roster around Nikola Jokic to go on another potential title run.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nikola Jokic’s wild ‘Joker’ origin story from Mike Miller

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-was-ready-die-court-nikola-jokic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso was ready to ‘die on court’ vs. Nikola Jokic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-Nuggets-All-Star-Nikola-Jokic.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso was ready to ‘die on court’ vs. Nikola Jokic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-02T09:54:53-07:00">June 2nd, 9:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-02T10:09:17-07:00">June 2nd, 10:09am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso played a significant role in defending Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic. In the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-nuggets-took-championship-level">Thunder’s tightly-contested series against the Nuggets</a>, Oklahoma City heightened its focus on both ends of the floor. After battling a Game 7 against Jokic and the Nuggets, Caruso needed extended time to recover.</p><p>Caruso <a href="https://twitter.com/BarstoolBigCat/status/1929525137520447660" rel="noopener">admitted that defending</a> Jokic in the second round tired him out ahead of facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, per Barstool’s Pardon My Take Podcast.</p><p>“I was exhausted after Game 7. I’m not gonna lie to you. That was the most physically tired I’ve been all playoffs,” Caruso said. “Going into Game 1 against Minnesota, there wasn’t a full recovery between playing Jokic for 25-30 minutes, and playing Game 1 against Minnesota. Luckily, our team’s really good. So, me at like 85-90 percent is still passable. But yeah, dude, I was exhausted.”</p><p>Against Jokic and the Nuggets, Caruso wouldn’t let fatigue prevent the Thunder from advancing to the Western Conference Finals.</p><p>“In Game 7, at that point, we had played every other day, and then we had two days to rest and recover from Game 7,” Caruso added. “So, the whole game I’m like, ‘I will die on this court if I have to.’ Fatigue isn’t going to be a reason that we don’t win the game. But there were a couple of possessions where I’m like laying on him, and luckily, we have great team defense.</p><p>“There’ll be a couple where I’m fronting him, running underneath, like, the dude, I don’t know what his official weight is, but he’s like an offensive tackle strong. He’s immovable,” Caruso concluded.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">PMT 6-2 </p><p>-Alex Caruso getting ready for the Finals <br>-Comedian Ray Romano<br>-Pacers are in the NBA Finals <br>-JOC from his bathtub <br>-National Sports Podcast News <br>-Who’s back and more </p><p>Listen —&gt; <a href="https://t.co/vnwiecPUEl">https://t.co/vnwiecPUEl</a></p><p>Spotify —&gt; <a href="https://t.co/CVVPOjdfRy">https://t.co/CVVPOjdfRy</a> <a href="https://t.co/5UWxVofAU5">pic.twitter.com/5UWxVofAU5</a></p><p>— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarstoolBigCat/status/1929525137520447660?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Thunder would go on to beat the Timberwolves 4-2 before advancing to the NBA Finals.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso’s ‘relentless’ truth on Nikola Jokic after Thunder win</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After winning Game 7, Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-drops-relentless-truth-bomb-guarding-nikola-jokic">Alex Caruso talked about defending Nikola Jokic</a>. With a trip to the conference finals on the line, Caruso said he left it all out on the floor.</p><p>“He’s a different matchup because he does so many different things to get others involved and influence the game. So, for me, it’s just about competing,” Caruso said. “There’s nothing to save it for. It’s Game 7, right? So, you’re either going to the next round or your summer’s starting. So, for me, it was just about being relentless with my energy.”</p><p>Caruso and the Thunder will have plenty of time to rest up for the Pacers in the NBA Finals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso was ready to ‘die on court’ vs. Nikola Jokic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-novak-djokovic-shuts-down-nikola-jokic-narrative');   ga('set', 'title', 'Novak Djokovic shuts down ‘fake’ Nikola Jokic narrative');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jokic-team-Serbia.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Novak Djokovic shuts down ‘fake’ Nikola Jokic narrative</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-02T07:59:18-07:00">June 2nd, 7:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-02T07:59:18-07:00">June 2nd, 7:59am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The country of Serbia has been very prominent in the sports world over the last decade, with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-historic-larry-bird-company-mvp-snub">Denver Nuggets standout Nikola Jokic dominating</a> their respective sports. The two Serbian stars have become good friends over the years and often connect in the offseason or when Djokovic is in the United States during the spring and fall of the ATP Tour.</p><p>The two aren’t together at the moment, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tennis/french-open-news-aryna-sabalenka-novak-djokovic-retirement-question">Djokovic is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open</a>. However, he is still there to stick up for Jokic whenever he gets the chance. On his day off before his fourth round match, Djokovic <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/3676751/" rel="noopener">shot down a popular narrative</a> around Jokic, via HoopsHype.</p><p>“Basketball is the biggest sport we have in our country,” Djokovic said. “Jokic is phenomenal. Honestly, what he does, how he does it. And also, the way he goes about his private life. People thought at the beginning that he was fake, that he was like not interested in anything except his family and his horses. But that’s really everything he is interested in, truthfully, honestly. I really respect that.”</p><p>Djokovic continued to stick up for his friend, <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/novak-djokovic-on-nikola-jokic-playing-with-serbian-nt-its-a-lot-of-responsibility-for-him/" rel="noopener">addressing the always-controversial topic</a> of whether Jokic should play for Team Serbia in the offseason after playing the long, grueling NBA season.</p><p>“The NBA season takes a lot out of him,” Djokovic admitted. “Every year, we have either it’s a European championship, or a World Championship, or the Olympic Games… And there is always a question mark ‘Will he play? Is he gonna play for his national team?’ There is always a debate. People are very passionate about the best players playing for our national team. It’s a lot of responsibility for him. I get him, I understand that. But he has done so much for our country and then for basketball as a whole. It’s amazing.”</p><p>Still, Jokic was able to lead Serbia into the Olympics last season and win a Bronze Medal, nearly knocking off the United States in the semifinals. He has done great things for Serbian basketball despite playing night after night with heavy minute loads for the Nuggets during the season.</p><p>Djokovic is currently playing his fourth round match against Cam Norrie as he chases another grand slam, which would extend his all-time record.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Novak Djokovic shuts down ‘fake’ Nikola Jokic narrative

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/ncaa-basketball/auburn-basketball-news-bruce-pearl-lands-international-transfer-nikola-jokic-serbian-team');   ga('set', 'title', 'Bruce Pearl lands international transfer from Nikola Jokic’s Serbian team');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bruce-Pearl_242adf.jpg"><figcaption>© Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Bruce Pearl lands international transfer from Nikola Jokic’s Serbian team</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-28T15:56:43-07:00">May 28th, 3:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-28T16:30:32-07:00">May 28th, 4:30pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NCAA Basketball</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Auburn basketball team picked up an <a href="https://x.com/TiptonEdits/status/1927757573123461265" rel="noopener">intriguing commitment</a> on Wednesday as Filip Jovic, a transfer from Serbia, announced his commitment to the Tigers. It was a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/auburn-basketball-news-bruce-pearl-scores-win-tigers-star-pulling-nba-draft">big day all around for head coach Bruce Pearl and Auburn</a> as the team also learned that it is getting Tahaad Pettiford back for another season. He decided to take his name out of the NBA Draft, and then the Tigers got this commitment from Jovic.</p><p>“NEWS: Auburn has landed a commitment from Serbian big man Filip Jovic, source told @On3sports,” Joe Tipton of On3 Sports said in a post. “The 6-foot-9, 20-year-old forward averaged 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game this season playing professionally for KK Mega Basket.”</p><p>If KK Mega Basket sounds familiar, it’s because NBA superstar Nikola Jokic played for them before coming to play basketball in the United States. Jokic played for KK Mega Basketball from 2012 until 2015, and then he was drafted by the Nuggets.</p><p>The Auburn basketball team is getting a good one in Filip Jovic as he has put up some good numbers during his two years with Mega Basket. He averaged a little over eight points per game during his first year, and then he took a nice leap this past season.</p><p>Jovic finished this past season averaging over 12 PPG. He also averaged 4.0 rebounds per game and 1.3 assists per game. The one thing that the 6-foot-9 center doesn’t have in his arsenal is three-point shooting. He had a good percentage during his first year with Mega Basket as he shot 38% from deep, but he only attempted eight threes. This past season, he shot the ball a lot more, but he didn’t make a lot of them. He was 10-43 from deep, which was good for 23%.</p><p>Filip Jovic is a talented player that is coming to Auburn with a lot of good experience after playing in Serbia. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/predicting-auburn-basketball-2026-national-title-chances-final-four-loss">The Tigers were one of the best teams</a> in the country this past season, and they came just short of playing for a national title as they lost in the Final Four. Auburn is getting a lot of talented players back, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/auburn-basketball-news-bruce-pearl-sec-transfer">the Tigers have some intriguing new additions</a> like Jovic. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he has with the team next year.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Bruce Pearl lands international transfer from Nikola Jokic’s Serbian team

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-draft-news-derik-queen-speaks-out-nikola-jokic-comparisons');   ga('set', 'title', 'Derik Queen speaks out on Nikola Jokic comparisons');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Derik-Queen.jpg"><figcaption>© Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Derik Queen speaks out on Nikola Jokic comparisons</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-27T13:56:18-07:00">May 27th, 1:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-27T13:58:30-07:00">May 27th, 1:58pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA Draft is coming up in a little less than a month, and one of the most intriguing <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/maryland-derik-queen-drops-reaction-for-kevin-willard-villanova-video">players in the draft is Maryland basketball center</a> Derik Queen. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/maryland-basketball-news-derik-queen-declares-nba-draft-freshman-season">Queen needed just one year with the Terrapins</a> to polish himself into an elite NBA Draft prospect, and now he is ready to go. Queen is a projected first-round pick, and he could even end up being a lottery pick. He has the skills necessary to be a star at the next level, and a popular player comparison for him is Nikola Jokic.</p><p>Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the NBA, and a lot of scouts <a href="https://youtu.be/0MmBOEL12gI?t=50" rel="noopener">see shades of him</a> in Derik Queen.</p><p>“You kind of got the ‘Baby Jokic’ nickname is what people were calling you right? There’s like [Alperen] Sengun, [Domantas] Sabonis, it’s like a Charmander or Charizard type of thing,” Kevin O’Conner said to Queen during an episode of The Kevin O’Conner Show. “With your game, obviously you’re a bucket getter, you’re a good passer as well. With Jokic, he has the three pointer. Sengun hasn’t developed a three yet, Sabonis started shooting threes this year effectively. With you seems to be the thing that teams want to see from you. Is that what you’re working on most right now is the three-pointer?”</p><p>That three-point shot is the one key difference. Queen shot just 20% from deep this past season, so that is in fact a big thing that he is trying to improve.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s just all mental and a lot of reps,” he responded. “It’s a work in progress. At the end of my freshman season at Maryland I started hitting them. It’s just confidence, mental, and a lot of reps.”</p><p>In terms of the player comparisons, Queen doesn’t really like to think about them as he wants to be a unique player, but when asked, he goes with Nikola Jokic because of how often he hears that one.</p><p>“I just go with the basic answer that everybody gives me, Jokic,” he said. “I really try not to compare myself.”</p><p>Of all the players in the NBA, Nikola Jokic is a pretty good one to be compared to. Queen has a similar skillset and he has the potential to impact the game in a similar way.</p><p>The 2025 NBA Draft will get underway on June 25th from the Barclays Center in New York. It’s going to be exciting to see where Derek Queen ends up.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Derik Queen speaks out on Nikola Jokic comparisons

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-novak-djokovic-congratulates-nikola-jokic-historic-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Novak Djokovic congratulates Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic for historic season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Nikola-Jokic-of-the-Denver-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Novak Djokovic congratulates Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic for historic season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-23T17:48:08-07:00">May 23rd, 5:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-23T17:48:08-07:00">May 23rd, 5:48pm</time><address><a>Benedetto Vitale</a>Benedetto Vitale is an avid sports writer who is an expert at covering the NFL, college football, NBA, and UFC. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 2016 with a film degree but has since dedicated his career to sports writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-david-adelman-head-coach-decision">Denver Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs</a>, the organization is still experiencing a win for superstar center Nikola Jokic. After putting on a historic season, fellow Serbian athlete Novak Djokovic sent his congratulations to Jokic on social media.</p><p>The Nuggets’ social media account on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a video of Djokovic praising Jokic for his <a href="https://x.com/nuggets/status/1926058872264925412" rel="noopener">efforts in the 2024-25 season</a>. The famed tennis star delivers a message in English and Serbian, giving the statement a more personal feel.</p><p>“Nikola, congratulations on another historic season. From our beloved homeland, Serbia, all the way to Denver, we are super proud of you in this new record-breaking season. You’ve broken so many records and made history once again. Proving everybody wrong that you cannot go further than you have in the last three, four years. I’m always a big supporter of yours, and I’ll keep on watching you make more history. So, congratulations and keep it going.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">A message from one Serbian legend to another 🤝 <a href="https://t.co/DUgCr8J1r2">pic.twitter.com/DUgCr8J1r2</a></p><p>— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1926058872264925412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Nikola Jokic ended the 2024-25 regular season averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game while owning a 57.6% shooting percentage and going 41.7% from the three-point line. He becomes just the third player in league history to average a triple-double in a single season. The only other two players to accomplish that feat are Oscar Robinson and Russell Westbrook.</p><p>Additionally, the Nuggets star was one of five players this season to be named to the All-NBA First Team. It marks the fifth time Nikola Jokic has been named to the All-NBA First Team, which is a franchise record for Denver. This is also the seventh consecutive season in which Jokic was named to an All-NBA Team, which is also a franchise record.</p><p>If that wasn’t impressive enough, the Serbian star also became the fastest player to reach 16,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and 5,000 assists. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-historic-larry-bird-company-mvp-snub">Nikola Jokic accomplished this feat</a> back in March, and it only took him 739 games to do so. The previous record was held by Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, who took 799 games to reach those marks.</p><p>At 30 years old, Jokic surely has enough gas in the tank to continue building upon his already impressive resume. He’ll enjoy the offseason for now and is expected to remain the Nuggets’ top star for years to come.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
29.6	12.7	10.2	0.6	1.8

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
29.6	12.7	10.2	0.6	1.8

Nikola Jokić news

Nikola
Jokić news