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Nikola Jokić posted one of the most dominant statistical seasons in NBA history in 2024-25, becoming the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 3 in points, rebounds and assists.

with averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists.

2024-25 Record: 50-32 (4th in West, lost in Conference Semifinals vs Thunder)

Nuggets fired coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with three games remaining in the regular season.
David Adelman, the group rebounded from a post-All-Star break slump, earning the No. 4 seed.

Offseason

Re-signing: N/A
Additions: Bruce Brown (free agent), Tim Hardaway Jr. (free agent), Cameron Johnson (trade), Jonas Valančiūnas (trade)
Draft: N/A
Departures: Vlatko Čančar (overseas), Michael Porter Jr. (trade), Dario Šarić (trade)
Unsigned Free Agents: DeAndre Jordan, Russell Westbrook

I think they'll play him less this year now that he has a good backup

Good moves, and imo the only team with a believable shot at the Thunder going into the season.

eminence wrote:Good moves, and imo the only team with a believable shot at the Thunder going into the season.

I would say Denver and Cleveland have realistic chances. Minnesota does as well if they get high-end, realistic growth/development from their roster.

ReggiesKnicks wrote:

eminence wrote:Good moves, and imo the only team with a believable shot at the Thunder going into the season.

I would say Denver and Cleveland have realistic chances. Minnesota does as well if they get high-end, realistic growth/development from their roster.

Cleveland I can see. They're talented/experienced enough at this point that anything less than coming out of the East is a disappointment. New York the only team in the conference that should be challenging them.

Minnesota I don't believe in Edwards quite enough, but maybe.

eminence wrote:
Cleveland I can see. They're talented/experienced enough at this point that anything less than coming out of the East is a disappointment. New York the only team in the conference that should be challenging them.

Cleveland also has an small back-court which doesn't lend itself well to defending OKC and their offensive attack. Cleveland does blend incredible size in the front-court with a great offense overall and are going to be Top 5 Offense and Defense again this year.

Minnesota I don't believe in Edwards quite enough, but maybe.

Yeah that's the thing with Minnesota. If you think he (Anthony Edwards) doesn't have the ability to make a jump then Minnesota isn't going to beat a healthy OKC.

I was impressed by him becoming an incredible 3P shooter seemingly overnight last year, which gives me pause in trying to limit him or put a realistic ceiling on him given his abilities.

I think we should probably be prepared for Jokic to not be quite as good anymore as he was the last few years. He’s not super old, but he is getting to an age where we usually see slight decline starting (though there’s exceptions—for instance, Magic Johnson had maybe his best year at this age).

lessthanjake wrote:I think we should probably be prepared for Jokic to not be quite as good anymore as he was the last few years. He’s not super old, but he is getting to an age where we usually see slight decline starting (though there’s exceptions—for instance, Magic Johnson had maybe his best year at this age).

While it's possible that Jokic will start to decline -- it has to happen sometime -- his game relies less on athleticism than most players, which theoretically means his decline will occur later in his career. We've also seen elite players improve their game in certain areas even as they physically decline. For example, LeBron became a better passer, three-point shooter, and overall leader of an offense in his second Cleveland stint, and Curry has improved as a defender later in his career. OTOH, few would pick later seasons as LeBron or Curry's peak, which implies decline, but Jokic isn't at a similar age yet.

You may be right simply because it's impossible to maintain this level of excellence for so long. Jokic famously projects an image of someone who doesn't care that much about basketball and has outside interests, so maybe his decline will come from losing motivation more than something physical.

One thing for sure is that we should appreciate his greatness while we have it.

This season he should cement himself as a top ten player of all-time

Outside wrote:

lessthanjake wrote:I think we should probably be prepared for Jokic to not be quite as good anymore as he was the last few years. He’s not super old, but he is getting to an age where we usually see slight decline starting (though there’s exceptions—for instance, Magic Johnson had maybe his best year at this age).

While it's possible that Jokic will start to decline -- it has to happen sometime -- his game relies less on athleticism than most players, which theoretically means his decline will occur later in his career. We've also seen elite players improve their game in certain areas even as they physically decline. For example, LeBron became a better passer, three-point shooter, and overall leader of an offense in his second Cleveland stint, and Curry has improved as a defender later in his career. OTOH, few would pick later seasons as LeBron or Curry's peak, which implies decline, but Jokic isn't at a similar age yet.

You may be right simply because it's impossible to maintain this level of excellence for so long. Jokic famously projects an image of someone who doesn't care that much about basketball and has outside interests, so maybe his decline will come from losing motivation more than something physical.

One thing for sure is that we should appreciate his greatness while we have it.

What is the thing we'd most like to see Jokic add to his game/improve upon at this point in his career? I feel like his pullup 3/jumper is something you see teams like the Wolves conceding all the time, forcing him to be a volume scorer

Outside wrote:

lessthanjake wrote:I think we should probably be prepared for Jokic to not be quite as good anymore as he was the last few years. He’s not super old, but he is getting to an age where we usually see slight decline starting (though there’s exceptions—for instance, Magic Johnson had maybe his best year at this age).

While it's possible that Jokic will start to decline -- it has to happen sometime -- his game relies less on athleticism than most players, which theoretically means his decline will occur later in his career. We've also seen elite players improve their game in certain areas even as they physically decline. For example, LeBron became a better passer, three-point shooter, and overall leader of an offense in his second Cleveland stint, and Curry has improved as a defender later in his career. OTOH, few would pick later seasons as LeBron or Curry's peak, which implies decline, but Jokic isn't at a similar age yet.

You may be right simply because it's impossible to maintain this level of excellence for so long. Jokic famously projects an image of someone who doesn't care that much about basketball and has outside interests, so maybe his decline will come from losing motivation more than something physical.

One thing for sure is that we should appreciate his greatness while we have it.

I feel like people often say that a guy’s game doesn’t rely on athleticism by thinking about whether they rely on raw quickness and jumping. But virtually everyone’s game is reliant on other forms of athleticism, like stamina and durability. And those things deteriorate with age too. In fact, if it were just the quickness/jumping stuff that declined, then I think quite a lot of players would really improve with age, because those things would be more than offset by improvements in game sense. But players just stop quite having the legs as they get older. Not that Jokic is really old, but I do think he’s the age where guys have to start pacing themselves more, and that ultimately means being a bit less effective.

You could argue that Jokic's slight decline has already began. Some believe that he was at his best in 2025, but I don't think it's unreasonable to think that he actually peaked a couple of years ago and what we saw this most recent season (and esp postseason) was not quite his best.

Caneman786 wrote:I think they'll play him less this year now that he has a good backup

I think the problem never was how good his backup was.
Jokic was compensating for the lack of ball handling and creation the Nuggets always had.
Val is going to help, but they must sort the guard rotation out.

Outside wrote:

lessthanjake wrote:I think we should probably be prepared for Jokic to not be quite as good anymore as he was the last few years. He’s not super old, but he is getting to an age where we usually see slight decline starting (though there’s exceptions—for instance, Magic Johnson had maybe his best year at this age).

While it's possible that Jokic will start to decline -- it has to happen sometime -- his game relies less on athleticism than most players, which theoretically means his decline will occur later in his career. We've also seen elite players improve their game in certain areas even as they physically decline. For example, LeBron became a better passer, three-point shooter, and overall leader of an offense in his second Cleveland stint, and Curry has improved as a defender later in his career. OTOH, few would pick later seasons as LeBron or Curry's peak, which implies decline, but Jokic isn't at a similar age yet.

You may be right simply because it's impossible to maintain this level of excellence for so long. Jokic famously projects an image of someone who doesn't care that much about basketball and has outside interests, so maybe his decline will come from losing motivation more than something physical.

One thing for sure is that we should appreciate his greatness while we have it.

not great athletes have less of a margin, though.
jordon or LeBron could compensate wirking on their skills, their strengths, and their bball IQ because, even in their mid to late 30s, they were still very athletic.
Jokic or Luka might become too slow, at some point.