Tag: Nikola Jokic

NBA Twitter has jokes about Nikola Jokic’s brothers: ‘Jokic Smash Bros’

It’s not the first time Nikola Jokic’s brothers Strahinja and Nemanja have been involved in an altercation in the stands during an NBA game. Last night they took a step further when Strahinja threw a punch at a fan following the crazy Nuggets’ …

It’s not the first time Nikola Jokic‘s brothers Strahinja and Nemanja have been involved in an altercation in the stands during an NBA game. Last night they took a step further when Strahinja threw a punch at a fan following the crazy Nuggets’ comeback vs. the Lakers:

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Strahinja’s actions:

Victor Wembanyama is already the NBA’s best defender and this survey of 142 players proves it

No one is a better defender than Wemby, according to this survey of NBA players.

Victor Wembanyama has only played one season in the NBA but his peers already have incredibly high praise for the big man.

In an anonymous survey of 142 players around the association, reporters from The AthleticĀ asked nearly one-third of the league to answer a series of questions. For example, we learned Indiana Fever draftee Caitlin Clark is the second-most popular non-NBA player among players in the league.

One of the questions was if you could pick one player to build a franchise around, who would it be? Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, emerged as the player with the most votes in this category.

Even though he missed the playoffs, Wembanyama had a slight edge over two-time NBA MVP and reigning NBA Finals MVP winner Nikola Jokic.

But that isn’t shocking considering that he is quite a bit younger and so long as he stays healthy, he should have a much longer career remaining than the Denver superstar.

Wembanyama also has a far greater defensive impact than Jokic. In fact, per this survey, he is actually a better defender than anyone else in the league.

RELATED: Here’s Victor Wembanyama’s case for Defensive Player of the Year folded up into one play against the Grizzlies

Wembanyama likely isn’t going to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie.

That honor will instead potentially go to Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert. Wembanyama, however, feels confident that the next several years of the award will go to himself.

RELATED: Victor Wembanyama’s shot at Rudy Gobert shows us just how serious he is about winning

It seems the rest of the league agrees with him, too, as they already feel he is the best defensive player in the NBA.

This is hardly a secret but the future looks bright for Wembanyama in San Antonio.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373 tag=692792600]

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named a finalist for 2023-24 MVP award

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nominated for 2023-24 MVP award.

The NBA announced its award finalists for the 2023-24 season on Sunday. The Oklahoma City Thunder had several representatives among the groups.

The biggest one is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP finalist nod. This shouldn’t be a shocker. The 25-year-old has been the face of the youngest first seed in league history.

Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the best players in the league this season, consistently scoring 30-plus points on high efficiency.

After finishing fifth in MVP voting last season, Gilgeous-Alexander has evolved into one of the best players in the league. He averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 75 games this season.

Other finalists are Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. The 2023-24 MVP winner will be announced during the NBA playoffs, Gilgeous-Alexander was also named a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year along with Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Chet Holmgren were named finalists for Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Nikola Jokić actually dressed like Gru from Despicable Me ahead of Lakers – Nuggets

Nikola Jokić actually dressed like Gru from Despicable Me ahead of Lakers-Nuggets.

Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić must’ve been feeling … despicable … ahead of Saturday night’s 2024 NBA playoffs opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.

On the same day a promo for Despicable Me 4 showed Jokić trying to avoid a group of adoring Minions because he looked like their boss, the Nuggets ace dressed exactly like Gru from the Despicable Me movies as he arrived at Ball Arena in Denver.

This is just next-level hilarious from Jokić as he has fully owned the fact that, in the right outfit, he does look exactly like Gru from Despicable Me.

The commitment to the bit is astounding.

We are fully on-board with Jokić owning this for the rest of the NBA playoffs, as they’ll run throughout the spring and summer as Despicable Me 4 continues to promote the upcoming sequel.

At this point, we really wouldn’t be shocked if Jokić makes a voice cameo in the movie. That’d be the perfect finale.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1373]

NBA playoff predictions: Ranking the Top 16 players for the 2024 postseason

HoopsHype predicts the 16 best players for the upcoming 2024 NBA playoffs, featuring Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

It’s here, the moment basketball fans all over the world have been waiting for: the 2024 NBA playoffs.

Today, we’re going to take a shot at predicting who the best players in the 2024 postseason will be. To do so, we weighed in how well we expect them to play, how far we expect their teams to go and how healthy we expect these players to be.

(A few superstars got docked quite a few spots for entering postseason play with a poor bill of health.)

With all those things considered, this was no easy exercise. Check out the results below.

Nikola Jokić shows Lakers some respect before playoff matchup

Nikola Jokić made a surprising statement about last season’s Western Conference finals, during which his Nuggets swept the Lakers.

Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the Western Conference finals by the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets boasted about it afterward, including at their championship parade, and the Lakers have wanted revenge.

Well, the Lakers will get their chance, albeit in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. Still, they seem ready, at least emotionally, and their head coach, Darvin Ham, certainly sounded that message after Tuesday’s play-in tournament win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

This time, the Nuggets may be actually showing L.A. at least a shred of respect. That includes their best player, two-time MVP Nikola Jokić, who made a surprising statement about their sweep of the Lakers last year.

“It was probably the toughest series that we had. … They’re a really talented team. They’re really well-built. … I have a huge respect for them”

Virtually no one thinks the Lakers have a chance against Denver this time around. But if they win one of the first two games in Denver, the complexion of the series will likely change.

The Lakers are certainly hoping this series will be the toughest series the Nuggets have had in at least a couple of years.

LeBron and the Lakers shouldn’t mess with karma to avoid the Nuggets in Round 1

Don’t mess with karma. Just try to beat New Orleans and then face Denver.

Let’s just say it out loud: The Lakers would have a better chance against any other team in the Western Conference than they would against the Nuggets.

Los Angeles finished the regular season as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, which means that they will play the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament.

The winner of that game advances to play the No. 2 seed in the West, which is the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Some really smart people and others in the sports media world are already suggesting Los Angeles should intentionally lose against New Orleans.

If the Lakers are defeated by the Pelicans, they would then host the winner of the other play-in game, which is the Kings against the Warriors.Ā The winner ofĀ thatĀ game would advance to play the No. 1 seed in the West, which is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It is no secret that Los Angeles has had more success against Oklahoma City than they have had against Denver. The Nuggets — who eliminated them in the postseason last year — beat them all three times they faced each other this season.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have won three consecutive games against the Thunder this season. ESPN’s Mike Greenberg went as far as to say that Lakers coach Darvin Ham should rest James and Anthony Davis (who did get hurt in the regular season finale) against New Orleans.

There is absolutely no world, however, in which that is a good idea.

It is simply an awful suggestion to tempt fate like that and face the potential ridicule of that backfiring, especially when the Pelicans are a team that Los Angeles can absolutely beat outright.

Most importantly, the two teams waiting for the Lakers in the secondary play-in game (Kings and Warriors) don’t exactly represent a guaranteed win for Los Angeles.

Neither scenario above is exactly a walk in the park here, especially as the team waiting on the other end will have momentum coming off a victory.

Sacramento has won eight of its last nine against Los Angeles and Davis has (somehow) literally never defeated Kings big man Domantas Sabonis during his NBA career.

The other option is the Warriors, who famously have Stephen Curry and four NBA championships under their belt since Steve Kerr took over as coach. No thanks!

If the Lakers do not feel they are capable of beating the Nuggets, then guess what? That means this season wasn’t meant for them to win a championship because defeating Denver is a part of that process.

Test the roster you have built this season and look at the task in front of you, which is getting past the Pelicans. If that is a win, then try your luck against the Nuggets. D’Angelo Russell should come into this series with a lot more confidence than he did last postseason.

Perhaps the Lakers get a chance against the Nuggets and the two-man game of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray steamrolls them. Then it wasn’t meant to be and it’s time to think about the offseason.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1373]

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander No. 2 in latest ESPN’s MVP straw poll

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander No. 2 in latest ESPN’s MVP straw poll.

As the 2023-24 regular season winds down, the award races continue to heat up. The biggest one involves the MVP award, which is likely going to Nikola Jokic.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps’ recent MVP straw poll confirms that belief. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stayed at No. 2 with 626 points, fewer than Jokic’s 953 points.

The 25-year-old only has 10 first-place votes, far fewer than the two-time MVP’s 85 first-place votes.

The straw poll does an excellent job of forecasting the likely award winners. With this being the final straw poll, it looks like Jokic will run away with the award.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s subpar performances and absence with injuries in recent weeks have halted any momentum he had gathered this season as an MVP candidate. Instead, he’ll likely finish second.

In 71 games, Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 30.3 points on 54% shooting, 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals. The Thunder (52-24) are one game behind first place in the Western Conference.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Gregg Popovich on Victor Wembanyama’s respect for Nikola Jokic

Gregg Popovich spoke about the respect Victor Wembanayma gained for Nikola Jokic after the San Antonio Spurs’ win over the Denver Nuggets.

The San Antonio Spurs have sat at the bottom of the Western Conference for most of the season, but lately, they’ve been surging forward. Their level of play has improved significantly, and in their most recent game against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, they put this on display.

Not only did the Spurs keep things close against the reigning champions, but star rookie Victor Wembanyama got to battle it out with arguably the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic. The two big men played incredible games, but in the end, the Nuggets finished on top, earning a 110-105 victory over the Spurs.

After the game, head coach Gregg Popovich said that Wembanyama gained a ton of respect for Jokic because of the game. (H/t ESPN)

ā€œWell, sure. Victor gained a lot of respect tonight becaus e Nikola is the best,ā€ Popovich said. ā€œFor Victor to want to guard him and to learn, it was a real testament to how good he wants to be. To go up against Nikola, like I said, shows a lot. And he is learning by the minute.ā€

If Wembanyama wants to be the best, he’ll have to beat the best. Jokic is firmly in that path.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Nikola Jokic discusses future ‘problem’ of Victor Wembanyama

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic said that San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama will be a “problem.”

The San Antonio Spurs fell to the reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets, on Tuesday night. Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Keldon Johnson were sidelined, as the Spurs will be dealing with some players shutting down for the season. In spite of that, they managed to put up a great fight against the Nuggets.

Head coach Gregg Popovich called the game one of the best he’s been a part of in recent memory, as two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and potential Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama battled it out. While Jokic ended up earning the win, Wembanyama did his best to match the performance of the Serbian giant.

After the game, Jokic had some very high praise for Wembanyama, noting that he’s going to be a problem very, very soon. (H/t ESPN)

ā€œOf course I didn’t do a good job today. He blocked six, seven shots,ā€ Jokic said. ā€œBut he’s a special player and you always have to do special acts to score against those guys. But I think when he learns and he figures it out, he’s going to be an even bigger problem.ā€

Jokic finished the game with 42 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists, while Wembanyama put up 23 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, and nine blocks.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]