Nikola Jokic enjoyed sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, but he didn’t view it as a reason to celebrate, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Jokic was typically low-key on Saturday during a session with reporters as he prepares for the first NBA Finals appearance for both himself and his team.
Denver had to overcome a large deficit in Game 4 against L.A., and the victory wasn’t secure until Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon combined to shut down LeBron James on the final play. It set up a career milestone for Jokic, but he didn’t get emotional about it.
“The win was nice,” he said. “Like half an hour after that, it was just OK. It’s a win. I thought it’s gonna be much bigger feeling, to be honest.”
There’s more from Denver:
- Jokic’s desire to join the Nuggets a year after being drafted stemmed more from personal reasons than professional, per Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (subscription required). Jokic played one season in the Adriatic League, but he wanted to come to the United States to be closer to his girlfriend, who’s now his wife, and his brothers. Jokic wasn’t certain that he was good enough to play in the NBA, but he asked the Nuggets if he could take part in training camp in 2015 so he could be near his loved ones. “I was more happy to be around them than to be in the NBA,” he admitted.
- General manager Calvin Booth has been in his current job for less than a year, so he wants to make sure the architects of the team get recognized for assembling a championship roster, Singer adds in another Denver Post story (subscription required). Booth offered thanks to former team president Tim Connelly, who put together a version of the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope trade before he left to take over the Timberwolves last summer, and to others who played a role in building the team’s foundation. “(Tim) deserves a ton of credit,” Booth said. “I also think Josh (Kroenke) and (former GM) Masai (Ujiri) deserve credit. … They did the Carmelo (Anthony) trade, and the Carmelo trade ended up being a lot of different assets that helped this team get to this point, one of them being Jamal with the pick swap. I feel like each iteration of the front office has helped contribute to get to this point.”
- The Nuggets were fortunate to land Bruce Brown on the second day of free agency last July, Harrison Wind and Adam Mares of DNVR Sports state on their podcast. Brown said he didn’t get any immediate offers when free agency began, so he was thrilled when Denver expressed interest.
I love it when people are confident and secure in who they are to able recognized and give well deserved credit to those who came be for. It’s such an important aspect of life that doesn’t happen enough, but is special when it does.
Congratulations to everyone who is and was apart of the Denver organization. Getting to the finals is an achievement in itself. Good luck the rest of the way. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.
Mello the gift that keeps giving ……
not for the Knicks of course. only takes from us.
Maybe its just me but I feel the Knicks took from Melo and basically anyone tenured in that 10~15 yr stretch
Nice to have ya back, love the Knicks being good but Melo was far from the problem that was the New York Knicks of yesteryear
@Cap – Melo may not have been THE problem. No single player can be with an organization as tortured as the Knicks were from the Isiah Thomas era through the Mills era (closer to 20 years). Still, Melo was both a symbol and magnifier of the dysfunction. Self-entitled, clueless, hostile to coaching and a horrible teammate. It didn’t surprise me how quickly he became persona non grata at every stop since leaving the NYK.
Well said ….
Fair, but I always consider the organization the Sun and players the moons – The gravitational pull definitely presides in one direction and only 1 imo
Nice to see the house back in order today
Jokic mvp
Melo was a huge problem. First the owner is the one who made the trade. And gave away the whole team for him. So Knicks didn’t have players or picks to build around him. So with no assets. Knicks just got worse. And Mello didn’t care.
Cause he was getting his. And his wife was getting hers as a DJ on the radio. So now it’s become a money grab. Melo was never about winning. As long as he was the most paid. And the star of Knicks. He got plenty of press and attention. And was able to sell his brand. No real fan wanted that. And all real fans knew where it was headed.
Then he sabotaged Phil. Cause he was taking his silver spoon away. So again Dolan steps in and kills the team for another 5 yrs. Phil wanted to rebuild thru draft. It took till Rose and Thibs got here. To finally fulfill Phil’s outlook. And now three yrs later we are finally going in the right direction. Melo was a disaster for Knicks. And worse was his attitude towards helping the Knicks. He didn’t see a light at end of tunnel.
So he got all he can for himself. D’Antoni was building a winner here with youth and draft picks. Melo trade killed all that and set us back 10 yrs.
Between Isiah and Mello. All they did was fleece Dolans money. This was the Yankee culture. Where all nons think you can buy a winner. Melo is worthless to me. Poster child for stealing NBA money ……..
I’m all about the game. And I don’t care about big market teams. Or expectations from TV contracts. The game is what sells. And Denver is a great team. Who should be promoted for the way they play. They have big time stars. Both not American. The viewership is WorldWide. So promote the best the game has to offer. Next to Fútbol. Basketball is the second biggest sport in the world. Freak all the bandwagon fans ……