Nikola Jokic wants to be an NBA champion, but he would rather win it with the Denver Nuggets than any other team.
After leading the Nuggets to a narrow victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, the Serbian All-Star reaffirmed his commitment with the franchise that drafted him in 2014.
“If I win it with Nuggets… that’s gonna be (more) than if I go or someone else joins us… that’s even better, maybe someone joins us. My personal opinion is I’d rather win it with Nuggets than with another team,” Jokic said about winning the NBA championship, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
After five years of playoff drought when he joined the team, Jokic has since led the Nuggets to back-to-back postseason appearances in 2018-19 and 2019-20. In the Orlando Bubble last campaign, Denver went all the way to the Western Conference Finals after coming back from two 3-1 deficits against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers.
While Mike Malone and Co. failed to take down the eventual champions Los Angeles Lakers, their rise in the West with Jokic leading the way has established the Nuggets as legitimate title contenders.
After Friday's win, Denver has improved to 22-15 on the season, good for fifth in the West standings. The Nuggs have also won five straight games as they look to pick up where they left off last season.
Nikola Jokic is undoubtedly the current face of the Nuggets, and while they are often overlooked in title talks, there's no doubt they have the talent and experience to compete this 2020-21 and in the years to come. Aside from Jokic, the franchise has another star in Jamal Murray and a rising talent in Michael Porter Jr.
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