Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are heading into a defining offseason, and the three-time MVP wasted no time making his position clear. Denver's season came to an end Thursday as the Minnesota Timberwolves knocked them out in the first round of the playoffs.
The No. 6 seed Timberwolves eliminated the Nuggets 4-2, marking the franchise's earliest postseason exit in four years. It was a result few saw coming for a team that won 54 regular-season games and carried title expectations into the spring.
During the postgame news conference, Jokic addressed his future with the Nuggets.
"I still want to be Nuggets forever," he said (via Guerilla Sports). When asked again whether that meant signing the extension Denver would offer, his answer didn't change.
"I still want to be Nuggets forever," he repeated.
Jokic's Contract Situation
The Serbian center has two years and $121.9 million remaining on his deal, but the second year is a player option.
That detail tends to create noise around a franchise superstar. This summer, Jokic becomes eligible for an extension worth up to four years and roughly $293 million, giving both sides a real opportunity to settle the future early.
Trade speculation will follow regardless, especially after an early exit. Jokic averaged 25.8 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.5 assists across the six-game series, so the production was there. The results were not.
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
A Difficult Series for Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
Even by his own standards, Jokic's playoff run left something to be desired. He shot just 39% through the first four games of the series, a number that stands out sharply against his 56% career field-goal rate.
He had never shot below 47% in a playoff series before this one. Against Minnesota and Rudy Gobert, he finished at 44.6% from the field and converted only 19.4% of his 3-point attempts. That outside shooting struggle traces back to his return from a knee injury in January and carried through the postseason.
Support around him was limited too. Jamal Murray averaged a career-high 25.4 points during the regular season but couldn't change the outcome when it mattered most. Minnesota closed the series out without star guard Anthony Edwards for the final two games, which made the result sting even more for Denver.
Still, Jokic's commitment to the Nuggets appears firm. Whether the front office builds something around him capable of going deeper next season is the question that matters now.
