Inside The Nuggets

Nikola Jokic's Blunt Statement After Denver Nuggets Fall to 0-2

The Denver Nuggets fell to 0-2 on the NBA season with their loss to the LA Clippers.
Joey Linn|
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during Denver Nuggets Media Day.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during Denver Nuggets Media Day. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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Denver NuggetsLos Angeles Clippers

The Denver Nuggets fell to 0-2 on the new NBA season with their loss to the LA Clippers on Saturday. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic had a dominant performance, finishing with 41 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block, and a career-high seven made threes.

The Clippers opted for single coverage against Jokic for most of the night, giving veteran center Ivica Zubac that responsibility. 

“He’s probably the best player in the league right now,” Zubac said of Jokic after the game. “… It’s a challenge every night. Especially, coach lets me guard him one on one… Every possession is a mind game… It’s a challenge and I look forward to these games a lot.”

With Denver remaining winless on the season, Jokic made a blunt statement after the game.

“Just because I scored 40 today, that doesn’t mean I played good… I don’t think we need to question my patience, because I’m with the guys. I’m not separate from them… I think we all need to play better.”

Not throwing his teammates under the bus, Jokic said everyone can be better, including himself. While the 2023 MVP was dominant in this game, he recognizes ways himself and the rest of the team can improve. 

These early struggles for the Nuggets are uncharacteristic, but this is also a new-look team after losing multiple key contributors since that championship run two seasons ago.

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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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