Nikola Jokic has made his preference clear: if he’s healthy, he wants to be out there.
That desire isn’t new, but the reasoning behind it came into sharper focus in a recent interview on the Jao Mile Podcast. Jokic, the three-time MVP, said his “wish” is to “play every game” when possible, and he explained why he feels that way.
"My wish is to play every game....Maybe you should rest a little sometimes, but somehow I think when you're in a rhythm, the game comes naturally," Jokic said.
That rhythm matters to Jokic. He also said he was “nervous” about the 16 games he missed last season because of a knee injury, and it wasn’t hard to understand why. For a player who thrives on timing, feel and repetition, being away from the floor clearly bothered him.
Up until that injury, Jokic had been relatively healthy through 11 seasons. The knee issue interrupted what had been a strong run of availability and took away his chance to keep pushing toward the idea of playing in “every game.” But that goal is his, and he’s earned some say in how he gets there.
The Nuggets, at least when he isn’t injured, should probably respect that. Yes, there’s always some risk in putting a star on the floor, even in a game that doesn’t feel as meaningful late in the season.
But that risk never disappears. It exists in the regular season, in the playoffs and, as Jokic already showed this summer, even in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers for Serbia.
Jokic’s approach helps explain why he’s stayed at MVP level for so long. He’s not coasting on talent.
He works. Hard.
In the same interview, he said he barely takes time away from the gym: “If I say 300 days, I am 295 in the gym.”
That line fits the rest of the picture. Jokic has built his game through constant repetition, and that includes the little things. Nuggets assistant Ognjen “Oji” Stojakovic recently said that even though Jokic has already perfected the floater and the runner, he still practices those shots every practice.
It’s part of why the case for letting Jokic decide on rest is so straightforward. He knows his body.
He knows what keeps him sharp. And the results speak loudly enough on their own.
Jokic has played 80 games twice in his career, and during the shortened 72-game 2020-21 season, he played all 72. That was also the season he won his first MVP.
So if playing all 82 games is what keeps Jokic happy and locked in, the Nuggets should give him that chance as long as he’s healthy. If he’s hurt, that’s different. But if the choice is between preserving a routine that keeps him in rhythm and forcing extra rest on a player who wants to play, Jokic’s track record suggests the answer is pretty simple.
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Nikola Jokic spent much of his offseason back in Serbia, and for Nuggets fans, that alone is enough to keep the imagination working overtime. He has long said he wants to spend his entire career in Denver, but the latest glimpse into his summer routine offered a different kind of picture, one centered on horses, quiet and the kind of distance from basketball that only seems to sharpen the questions around what comes next.
The Nuggets have no official reason to worry about any immediate decision, and there has been no report suggesting Jokic is about to change course. Still, every offseason seems to renew the same lingering thought in Denver: how long will the franchise centerpiece keep choosing the NBA over the life he clearly loves away from it? For now, the answer remains unstated, which is exactly why the speculation keeps following him back from Serbia. [Read more 🡒]
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Instead, Braun followed the contract year with a rough season that never quite found its footing. His production dipped, his shooting efficiency sagged, and the injury-affected stretch fed into a frustrating playoff finish for Denver, leaving the Nuggets with an uncomfortable debate about whether the extension reflects belief in his long-term upside or a premium on what he can still become. [Read more 🡒]