{"id":1912225,"date":"2026-05-01T05:57:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1912225"},"modified":"2026-05-01T05:57:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T02:57:32","slug":"nikola-jokic-after-playoff-loss-to-wolves-i-still-want-to-be-a-nugget-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1912225","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Joki\u0107 after playoff loss to Wolves: \u2018I still want to be a Nugget forever\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Don\u2019t expect any drama around the future of Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Joki\u0107.<\/p>\n

The center, who is eligible this summer to sign a four-year, $293 million extension with the Nuggets, said Thursday that nothing has changed about his stance on the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still want to be a Nugget forever,\u201d Joki\u0107 said after No. 3-seeded Denver was eliminated in six games by the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n

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Last summer, Joki\u0107 turned down<\/a> a three-year, $212 million extension, ostensibly because he was eligible to sign a more lucrative deal this summer. When asked Thursday if he was ready to sign that four-year extension, Joki\u0107 repeated himself.<\/p>\n

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{“endpoint”:”https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql”}<\/p>\n

\u201cI still want to be a Nugget forever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If Joki\u0107 does not sign an extension, he could exercise his early termination option and become a free agent after the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

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The one wrinkle in his commitment could be the Nuggets\u2019 long-term prospects. He has said he wants the team to return to championship contention, but he acknowledged Thursday that the Nuggets are \u201cfar away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we just lost in the first round,\u201d Joki\u0107 said.<\/p>\n

Joki\u0107 said he will shoulder \u201ca lot\u201d of the blame for the Nuggets\u2019 playoff loss. His series averages were sterling \u2014 25.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 9.5 assists \u2014 but he shot 44 percent from the field and just 7-for-36 from 3-point range. He also had 23 turnovers in the six games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed to play better, and I must play better,\u201d Joki\u0107 said. \u201cI think I was getting in a rhythm from the third game, but I needed to play much better the first three games \u2026 just to get everybody involved and get guys open.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Don\u2019t expect any drama around the future of Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Joki\u0107. The center, who is eligible this summer to sign a four-year, $293 million extension with the Nuggets, said Thursday that nothing has changed about his stance on the future. \u201cI still want to be a Nugget forever,\u201d Joki\u0107 said after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1912225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1912225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1912225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1912225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1912225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}