Nikola Jokić Shrugs Off MVP Talk, Focuses on High-Stakes Showdown with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Thunder

Denver has just witnessed a playoff series that will be etched in the minds of basketball fans for ages. The Nuggets? They didn’t just scrape by—they demolished the Los Angeles Clippers in a nail-biting, grind-it-out first-round battle that revived a season many had written off as lost. Talk about a mix of grit and teamwork pulling them from the ashes. Now, their prize? A showdown with none other than the juggernaut Oklahoma City Thunder, boasting 72 wins and led by the electrifying MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Nuggets coach David Adelman is already looking ahead, reminding everyone this is far from over—this wasn’t a championship celebration, just a stepping stone toward something bigger. And boy, does the next series promise drama: a high-stakes duel between two MVP candidates, Nikola Jokić and SGA, setting the stage for an epic narrative full of skill, rivalry, and heartbreak. The scoreboard might say one thing, but the real battle—the one for Western Conference supremacy and maybe even the title—is just getting warmed up.

LEARN MOREAdvertisement”I’m sure it kind of felt like it to fans on both sides because the series was so insane and the ups and downs were so crazy. It’s one of those series you won’t forget you were a part of.””Very different player,” Jokić said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed and so many levels, scorer. And everything looks so easy for him.

“Very different player,” Jokić said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed and so many levels, scorer. And everything looks so easy for him.

“Very different player,” Jokić said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed and so many levels, scorer. And everything looks so easy for him.

“Very different player,” Jokić said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed and so many levels, scorer. And everything looks so easy for him.

“Very different player,” Jokić said of Gilgeous-Alexander. “He’s playing on so many levels, speed and so many levels, scorer. And everything looks so easy for him.

Advertisement”It feels good, but I also know that we’re flying to OKC tomorrow,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after Saturday’s win at Denver’s Ball Arena. “This was not the championship.