Inside The Nuggets

Kevin Durant Gets Honest About How NBA Players View Nikola Jokic

Kevin Durant got honest about Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic after the USA-Serbia Paris Olympics game
Joey Linn|
Dec 1, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (right) greets Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant following the game at Footprint Center.
Dec 1, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (right) greets Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant following the game at Footprint Center. | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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Denver Nuggets

Team USA narrowly defeated Serbia in the 2024 Paris Olympics semifinals game, completing an impressive comeback to advance to the gold medal game against France. Led by Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, Serbia led for most of this game, but was unable to hold off Team USA in the fourth quarter.

Jokic had 17 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds in the loss to Team USA. Serbia's leading scorer in this game was Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who finished with 20 points.

Team USA needed Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant to play every minute of the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.

Following the game, Durant went back and forth on X with several fans.

Calling out one fan's post about Serbia, Durant was tagged in a reply that read, "Cheering against Team USA? You mean, like all of those Americans who were making fun of Noah Lyles not winning gold in his latest race? Good ol' double standards. Just admit you hate the fact that Jokic is clearly the best player in the world."

Responding to this, Durant made it clear how NBA players feel about Jokic:

According to Durant, players have "major respect" for Jokic, but do not "worship him" like some fans do. That said, Durant added that most players are in awe of his brilliance.

Durant has faced Jokic 25 times in his NBA career (including the playoffs), and three times this summer.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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