DENVER — The Denver Nuggets gathered round Nikola Jokic close to the 3-point line Wednesday and belted out a relatively off-key model of “ happy birthday ” in honor of him turning 30.
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Often so poised on the court docket, the three-time NBA MVP appeared nearly bashful.
“I don’t like my birthday,” Jokic defined. “Getting older.”
And higher?
“Like wine,” he cracked.
In a whole lot of methods, Jokic stays very a lot a child at coronary heart, proper right down to his new Peppa Pig-themed sneakers. However his sport has definitely matured to the purpose the place he retains setting the bar greater and better for himself and simply may be within the midst of his most interesting season of all of them. He is averaging 29.8 factors, 12.6 rebounds and 10.2 assists.
As well as, he is posted a league-leading 25 triple-doubles, which is simply 4 shy of tying the franchise report he set in 2022-23.
His coach, Michael Malone, was stumped by simply what may be the ceiling for his huge man?
“Geez, I don’t know. He keeps on pushing the envelope,” mentioned Malone, whose workforce will host Charlotte on Thursday night time. “When you’re dealing with greatness, you never want to put a ceiling on that. We want to give him room to grow and and watch that, because it’s really fun to be a part of that process.”
Jokic started suiting up for the Nuggets as a 20-year-old child who wanted to enhance his health and hone his footwork. Over the previous decade, he is blossomed into one of many league’s most hard-to-contain gamers and led the Nuggets to their first NBA championship in 2023.
He’s married now with two younger youngsters. He has a bronze medal he earned with Serbia final summer season on the Paris Olympics. His sponsor, 361 Levels, is on the brink of launch his signature shoe, which is impressed by Peppa Pig, the character within the long-running kids’s sequence.
This season, he is displaying off the most recent wrinkle to his sport — long-range capturing. He is hitting a career-best 45% from past the 3-point line.
“He is playing the best basketball of his life,” Malone mentioned. “At his coronary heart, he’s nonetheless the identical particular person. He’s nonetheless Nikola Jokic from Sombor, Serbia. He’s by no means forgotten the place he’s come from, or who’s helped him get right here.”
Given his model of play, Malone believes Jokic might final within the league at an elite stage for some time.
“The way dominates the game is with intelligence and skill, not athleticism,” Malone mentioned. “He’s not driving down the lane and dunking on people every night. So I think that bodes well for his longevity.”
That is, if the desire remains strong. He said that sticking around long enough so his kids can see him play is, “not going to be a factor for me.”
Jokic returned to town after competing for Chuck’s Global Stars in the All-Star Game last weekend. He had two points in 10 minutes as his squad lost to Shaq’s OGs in the final.
It wasn’t exactly his idea of rest and relaxation.
“Part of the business, part of the job,” Jokic mentioned of his journey to San Francisco for the weekend festivities. “I might relatively be some other place … it’s a blessing and a curse.”
Now, it’s again to work for the Nuggets, who’ve received eight in a row and are presently the third seed within the Western Convention. They’re returning to well being, too, with Michael Porter Jr. , Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon all going by observe Wednesday. The one participant lacking was Peyton Watson .
They’ve 27 video games remaining to tinker with lineups and discover the appropriate combos for a playoff push.
“People say, ‘Oh, that’s a tough decision,’” Malone mentioned. “I look at it the opposite way. I’m really fortunate to have a tough decision to make where you have quality players that have really impacted winning. It’s never about one player. It’s about what’s best for our team.”
That’s the perspective of Jokic, too.
“He’s our heartbeat,” mentioned Julian Strawther, who took half within the Rising Stars occasion over the weekend. “It’s not always being a vocal leader but leading by example with the things he does and how hard he works. Having him on our side, it makes us feel a lot better.”
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