Prompted by the probing interviewer known as "Curious Mike" in a rare podcast appearance made public this week, Nikola Jokic still politely swerved away from giving a straight answer to hot take television's favorite question.
But as Jokic pondered the options for his current top-five players in the NBA (excluding himself, of course), the names that reflexively occurred to him were at minimum a telling reminder of the basketball generation he recognizes as a forebearer to the rest. Kevin Durant and LeBron James were two of the first four players he floated to teammate Michael Porter Jr. in his non-answer. For those keen on over-reading, it was a subtle and insightful glimpse into Jokic's mind.
What the Nuggets suffered through Friday night was an equally relevant study in the merits of not over-reading, though.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 to lead the Thunder in a statement rout of the Nuggets, 119-93. He drained a cold-blooded game-winning shot in the same arena two weeks earlier, when he carried Oklahoma City in a fourth-quarter comeback. He wasn't one of the names Jokic mentioned in the silly exercise with Porter. Think that means Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't have Jokic's respect as one of the best in the sport?
"He's a problem in this league," Jokic said Friday.
Maybe it takes one to know one.
Since the start of last season, the Nuggets were 51-6 at home when Jokic played (including playoffs). That was before the Thunder visited Dec. 16. Now Denver has been handed two home losses by the same opponent in quick succession. And in the midst of the defending champs playing some of their best basketball of the 2023-24 season. Lopsided as the rematch was, Oklahoma City probably doesn't get either result without the efforts of SGA.
"He's a special player. Not just this year," Jokic said before labeling Gilgeous-Alexander a problem. "And the good thing about him, he wants to win. He doesn't care about numbers. He wants to win. And I think that's the best thing about him."
Gilgeous-Alexander and rookie Chet Holmgren have certainly catapulted into the adjacent conversation about the league's best duos. That's a title seemingly understood to be held by Jokic and Jamal Murray right now, but the ascent of Holmgren has accelerated Oklahoma City's progression from frisky underdog to heavyweight contender. During the Nuggets' 2023 playoff gauntlet, Durant, James, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert were able to combine for two total road wins in Denver.
The year closed with a team that didn't exist in its current form six months ago proving it can win two in a row here.
"They play a unique style of basketball," Jokic said. "I'm not gonna say they surprise us, because I knew they were gonna be good this year, but I think we just didn't respond well."
Thunder converging
The mood of the Nuggets after getting blown out by OKC was not one of concern.
Murray insisted Denver's 17 turnovers were more self-inflicted than Thunder-inflicted. Nuggets coach Michael Malone brought up fatigue as a possible factor in the team's eighth back-to-back this season, although he refused to use it as an excuse.
"Internally, we've gotta be a little better, knowing that the other team is playing hard as hell," Murray said. "We're a great team, and we normally figure it out. We normally: Bad half. I'll have a 20-point quarter, or Jok will go crazy, or KCP will get some key plays. I just felt like we beat ourselves tonight, and then on top of that, they beat us as well. It was like a two-fold."
Seven of those turnovers belonged to Jokic, revealing a pattern in how Oklahoma City guards. Collapsing the paint against Jokic has been the Thunder's go-to coverage, relying on active hands to render it difficult for the two-time MVP to pass out of incessant double-teams. Six of his turnovers were during a nine-minute stretch between the second and third quarters.
"They are playing really energetic on defense," Jokic said. "They're using their hands in the gaps, in the passing lanes. They are coached really well."
"You've just gotta flow with it. If they shrink, something's open," Murray said. "If Lu Dort doesn't want to switch on something, then somebody else is open. There's counters to everything. … We've just gotta be more mindful of the stuff we do in the game, and trust each other a little more. Trust the pass a little more. The ball movement. I feel like the ball got stuck."
For a team that has taken its losses hard this season, Nuggets players — even Malone — were intent on pivoting into the next game and using the ugly loss as a learning experience.
After all, there was a case for Murray's point about the two-fold nature of the loss: The Nuggets were a dismal 27% from 3-point range, missing plenty of quality looks when Jokic was able to navigate out of the defensive coverage without getting intercepted. If Jokic gets crowded inside and passes to an open shooter who keeps missing, do the Nuggets have a Plan C?
"I mean, it's an open look, so we're gonna take those shots any time," Jokic said. "So we believe in that, and that's our system."
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