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Nikola Jokic Drew Up a Play For the Nuggets and NBA Fans Immediately Had Jokes

Coach Jokic, reporting for duty?
Brigid Kennedy|
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on April 10, 2025.
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on April 10, 2025. | NBA, Bleacher Report / X / Screensho

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Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic took coaching matters into his own hands on Wednesday night when he was seen drawing up plays for his team during a huddle on the sidelines.

Whether or not Jokic had done this before, it was a notable moment considering the Nuggets on Tuesday shockingly fired their longtime head coach Michael Malone—and general manager Calvin Booth—with just three games left in their season. And though the front office did appoint an interim head coach (Nuggets staffer David Adelman), it's clear Jokic, one of the league's best players, could maybe carry that torch himself.

Check out that moment below:

Given Jokic's star power and his beloved but lackadaisical approach to basketball, plus the bygone era of NBA player-coaches, fans then saw this all happening and immediately had jokes.

Though the team could have been forgiven for losing this contest considering the turmoil that led up to it, they nonetheless pulled out the win, defeating the Sacramento Kings, 124-116. Coach Jokic, meanwhile, recorded a triple-double, with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.

Next up for Denver—they'll host the Memphis Grizzles on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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