Isaiah Hartenstein Rumors

Thunder Notes: Hartenstein, Holmgren, Dort, SGA, Williams

April 19th, 2025 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault didn’t get to use his twin tower lineup as much as he expected this season, but he’s seen enough to have confidence in it heading into the playoffs, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

After getting pounded on the boards in a second-round series loss to Dallas last year, Oklahoma City made finding another big man an offseason priority. The club was able to land Isaiah Hartenstein on a three-year, $87MM contract in free agency and planned to team him with Chet Holmgren to form a combination that could match up with the more physical teams in the West.

However, Hartenstein broke his left hand during the preseason and didn’t play his first game with OKC until November 20. By that time, Holmgren had suffered a fractured hip that kept him sidelined until early February. They were active on the same night only 20 times this season and logged 316 minutes together. It’s a small sample, but Daigneault liked how they looked.

“It would be more uncomfortable if it was like really stalling,” he said. “If it wasn’t getting off the ground or if it was low-impact or if it was clunky, then that’s a harder decision of (how much to use it). But it was good right away in unpredictable ways.”

The combination was effective on both ends of the court — Slater notes that the Thunder posted a 122.9 offensive rating and 109.4 defensive rating when they played together and outscored their opponents by 96 points. Their next challenge will be a matchup with 7’4″ rookie Zach Edey and Jaren Jackson Jr. in a first-round series against Memphis.

“The offensive flow that we’ve been able to maintain with two seven-footers on the floor (is key),” Daigneault said. “It’s something that always concerns you when you go super big. But I think it speaks to how skilled those guys are. They’re both in their own way very dynamic.”

There’s more from Oklahoma City:

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Luguentz Dort talked about his chances of earning Defensive Player of the Year honors. Dort admits that defensive excellence can be difficult to quantify, but he hopes voters take the Thunder’s 68-win season into consideration. “This is just not numbers,” he said. “You got to be able to watch the games and see exactly what the players are doing on the court. I don’t think I have the most steals or the most blocks or whatever. But I know that every time I have a matchup, my matchup is in hell. So, it is hard to (define) because if you just go based on the numbers, I probably won’t be in a conversation. But if you watch the (other) games and watch our games the whole season, you could see that I take a lot of pride (in defense).”
Playoff inexperience is the major question facing the Thunder after a dominant regular season, notes Mark Medina of Athlon Sports. Players don’t believe that will be an issue, and they’re taking inspiration from last year’s early exit. “We have a ‘whatever it takes’ mentality,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The goal is to win. However you get it done, it’s a step in the right direction. It’s going to look ugly at times. It’s going to look pretty at times. We want to be a team that gets it done, regardless.”
The playoffs present an opportunity for Jalen Williams to earn more national recognition, per Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. Williams has only been in 10 postseason games, but he’ll be counted on to help Gilgeous-Alexander carry the scoring load.

Inside The Nuggets’ Firing Of Michael Malone, Calvin Booth

April 12th, 2025 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had lost the support of virtually the entire locker room by the time he and general manager Calvin Booth were fired earlier this week, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscription required) reports within an investigation of what went wrong in Denver.

Malone was a strong-willed coach whose emotions varied greatly depending on whether the team won or lost, sources tell Fischer. Many players found that experience grating and began to tune him out.

“I can’t say any player was vouching for him,” one source told Fischer, while another said “this thing is broken” after a loss to Indiana last week.

As several other reports have indicated, Malone and Booth had a strained relationship and rarely communicated other than to discuss matters involving the team. Booth turned down a contract extension prior to the season, believing it was below his market value, and it was widely believed that Malone’s time in Denver would have ended this offseason if Booth had accepted the offer and remained GM.

Much of their conflict stemmed from Malone’s preference to rely on experienced veterans at the expense of younger talent, which Fischer notes is a practice that pre-dates Booth’s arrival to the team. Fischer points to Isaiah Hartenstein, one of the most sought-after free agents on last year’s market, as the best example. Hartenstein could have developed into a reliable backup for Nikola Jokic, but Malone only used him in 30 games during the 2020/21 season before he was traded to Cleveland at the deadline.

A similar situation played out last year with Jay Huff, who has blossomed this season in Memphis. Sources tell Fischer that Booth and assistant general manager Tommy Balcetis both implored Malone to play Huff, who was on a two-way contract at the time, but he only got into 20 games and averaged 2.5 minutes per night.

While Christian Braun eventually broke through and has established himself as a reliable starter, Malone was pushing to trade him for a more established player leading up to the 2024 deadline, sources tell Fischer.

Fischer points out that despite their animosity, Malone and Booth were able to produce the most successful seasons in Nuggets history, winning the NBA title in 2023 and matching the franchise record for victories with 57 last year.

Much of the frustration stemmed from Malone’s refusal to give regular minutes to the young players Booth brought in after Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left in free agency. Fischer notes that Booth had a sign-and-trade opportunity with the Mavericks last summer involving Caldwell-Pope, but he didn’t want to strengthen the roster of the defending Western Conference champions.

The Nuggets were quiet at this year’s trade deadline, as Booth said potential deals would have to involve Zeke Nnaji‘s $8.8MM salary and Dario Saric‘s $5.1MM. Fischer hears that Denver expressed interest in several players — including Terance Mann, who was ultimately dealt to Atlanta — but Booth felt the price was too high and many potential trading partners shied away from Saric because he holds a player option for next season.

The front office also considered trade options that would turn Michael Porter Jr.‘s $36MM salary into multiple players on lesser deals, according to Fischer. He adds that it never got past the conceptual stage, noting that the Kroenkes are fond of Porter because he’s a Missouri alum just like they are, and they’re considered unlikely to trade him away.

Nuggets players are more supportive of interim coach David Adelman, and Fischer hears that he’ll get a chance to keep the job on a permanent basis. Fischer notes that Booth wasn’t immediately replaced, but sources tell him the team will conduct a search for a new head of basketball operations while keeping most of the current front office together. Fischer mentions Minnesota general manager Matt Lloyd as a name to watch.

The biggest question hanging over the Nuggets as the season winds down is whether Jokic might grow tired of all the chaos and ask for a trade. Fischer states that the three-time MVP has shown no indication of wanting out, but adds that rival teams are sure to be calling with offers this summer.

Thunder Notes: Records, Wiggins, Caruso, SGA, Hartenstein, Presti

April 3rd, 2025 at 10:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder won’t be able to match the 73-win record set by the 2015/16 Warriors, but they’re putting the finishing touches on one of the best regular seasons in NBA history, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

As Slater details, the Thunder’s point differential of +13.4 points per game would be an NBA record. They still have a shot at setting a new single-season record for net rating as well — their +13.2 mark is just shy of the +13.4 record set by the 1995/96 Bulls. Oklahoma City also established a new high-water mark for the best cross-conference record in league history by going 29-1 against Eastern Conference opponents and has tied the NBA record for most double-digit wins in a season (50).

Even though they’ve long since clinched the top seed in the Western Conference and have started to get their key players some rest, the Thunder continue to roll — they haven’t lost since March 10 and a 70-win season remains in play with six games left on their schedule. Still, as Slater details, Oklahoma City’s players appear unimpressed by their regular season accomplishments, stressing that a title is the only thing that matters to them.

“We don’t care not one bit about any of those records,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said this week. “They mean something, but in the grand scheme, they don’t. We’re after one thing and one thing only. That’s what’s on our mind. Everything else we don’t care about.”

“It’s cool,” Jalen Williams added. “That stat stuff is more for y’all than it is for us. That’s my only answer. Sorry.”

Here’s more out of OKC:

Aaron Wiggins, who has missed the past five games with left Achilles tendinitis, isn’t on the injury report for Friday’s game in Houston and should be available to make his return, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Alex Caruso also isn’t on the injury report after sitting out Wednesday’s win over Detroit due to left ankle soreness.
In addition to being knocked out of last year’s NBA playoffs in the second round, Gilgeous-Alexander suffered an early exit at the Paris Olympics with Team Canada. Sam Amick of The Athletic takes a closer look at how those two tough losses are driving the MVP frontrunner — and how they remind him not to take any opportunities for granted. “Like (Thunder head) coach (Mark Daigneault) said a couple weeks ago, this group that we have today could be the best group of players I ever play with,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “You think, ‘Oh, we’re all 25 or under, so we have a whole runway in front of us.’ But you never know what happens.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Rylan Stiles of SI.com, big man Isaiah Hartenstein explained why the Thunder’s culture helped convince him to sign with Oklahoma City last year, expressed respect for general manager Sam Presti, and shared his impressions of playing alongside fellow big man Chet Holmgren.
Presti is clearly the NBA’s Executive of the Year and deserves to be honored with that award this spring, Stiles argues in a separate SI.com story. In Stiles’ view, Presti has built the deepest roster in the NBA, with last offseason’s signing of Hartenstein and trade for Caruso making this season’s version of the Thunder even more formidable than last year’s team.

Northwest Notes: Gobert, Watson, Henderson, Hartenstein

March 30th, 2025 at 5:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Which team does Rudy Gobert believe is Minnesota’s toughest foe? The Timberwolves, he told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“We are our biggest opponent,” Gobert said. “We get a little complacent. When people start saying we’re good and when the odds are with us, that’s when we’re not as a good.”

As the postseason approaches, Gobert says his team’s success is predicated on preparation.

“We’ve been through it for the last few years, so by now we know that it’s just about us, our approach,” Gobert said. “It doesn’t just start at the tip-off of the game. It starts right now, how we recover, the work that we put in tomorrow. We all know the things we need to do to be at our best and try to be consistent.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Peyton Watson calls himself a gamer. The Nuggets wing is embracing the challenge of being a defensive stopper, he told Luca Evans of The Denver Post. “I mean, I think just as – about as confident as any guy in the league right now,” Watson said. “I think that I have the ability, on a night-to-night basis, to slow a lot of guys down and cut their water off. And I’m just trying to get better at doing that as consistently as possible.”
Portland guard Scoot Henderson is in the NBA’s concussion protocol, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link). He was among several Trail Blazers regulars who didn’t play against the Knicks on Sunday.
Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein missed the second half of their win over Indiana on Saturday with left hip soreness, according to Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. Hartenstein played 14 minutes, scoring four points. He recorded double-doubles in five of the previous six games. The veteran center is listed as questionable to play on Monday against Chicago, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets.

Northwest Notes: SGA, Dort, Avdija, Kessler

March 18th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With a matchup against the injury-riddled Sixers on Wednesday, the Thunder have chosen to give Most Valuable Player candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a break. The team has announced that SGA won’t play, listing rest as the reason, ESPN relays. It won’t impact Gilgeous-Alexander’s eligibility for the MVP — he’s already played 66 games, one more than needed to qualify for postseason awards.

Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort are also out due to hip injuries while Isaiah Hartenstein (back) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) are listed as questionable.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Speaking of Dort, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi (Twitter link) that he deserves consideration for defensive awards such as All-Defensive Team and Defensive Player of the Year. “I think his time has come for that. I think he’ll get that recognition this year. … we have the best defense in the league statistically and he’s anchored that the entire season,” Daigneault said. “The amount of 30-point games we’ve given up is the lowest in the league by any metric. He’s guarding most of those guys.” Dort has appeared in 62 games and needs to play three more games to qualify for those awards.
Forward Deni Avdija admits he was blindsided when Washington traded him to the Trail Blazers. “It was nighttime at my place (in Israel), and I woke up. I saw I got traded, and it was very hard for me,” he told Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “All the friendships that I had with the guys there, the city, the fans — it all just disappeared in a second. But everything’s for the good. I feel like I found a nice home in Portland.” Avdija has ramped up his production this month, averaging 20.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in March. “We’ve let him have a lot more responsibility with the ball, and he keeps proving to get better and better at it,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “He’s like a one-man fast break when he gets the ball. Some of these things, I didn’t even know about when we got him, because we only played him twice a year, so I didn’t know that much. But he’s been a pleasant surprise. The fire that he plays with, I think, takes our team to another level.”
Jazz coach Will Hardy has given Walker Kessler the green light to shoot three-pointers. “I’m very, very appreciative of him to give me the opportunity to work on it,” Kessler told Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. “And I know, and I believe in myself to know that I can do that. I need to get back in the rhythm of how to do it, because it’s been a long time since I’ve really done it in volume.” Kessler, who will be rested against the Wizards on Wednesday, has taken 11 outside shots in his last two appearances but knocked down just one.

Northwest Notes: Thybulle, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Jazz, Edwards

March 17th, 2025 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Matisse Thybulle played only six minutes in his season debut with the Trail Blazers on Sunday but he made a major impact. He blocked a three-point attempt by Orlando Robinson as time expired in the three-point victory, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian notes.

“It was fun,” Thybulle said. “My head was spinning a bit, got tired a lot faster than I was expecting, but felt like I fit in well. Felt like I was able to contribute early, which was something I was hoping to be able to do. And then, was able to recover from a mistake late in the game and save it.”

Head coach Chauncey Billups was thrilled to have the defensive stalwart back in action. Thybulle had been sidelined by knee and ankle injuries for most of the 2024/25 season.

“Obviously, you saw how he hadn’t played all year, and game’s on the line, you see, I trust him,” Billups said. “Just throw him out there.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder‘s big man pairing of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren was particularly effective in a win over Milwaukee on Sunday. Hartenstein had 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Holmgren had 16 points and eight rebounds. They also combined for six assists. “It’s improved over the course of games we’ve done it. … I think early on, when we were playing that lineup, it was against perimeter oriented teams, which can skew your impression of it,” head coach Mark Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “(Sunday) we used it against a team it was impactful against.”
The Jazz were fined $100K last week for holding out a healthy Lauri Markkanen, so they tried a new tanking strategy against the Raptors on Friday, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Instead of making Walker Kessler inactive, the Jazz chose to dress the rotation center but not play him. Markkanen sat the entire second half while Collin Sexton played only 20 minutes and was held out during crunch time. That trio started against a much better opponent, the Timberwolves, on Sunday and the Jazz lost by 26 points.
Anthony Edwards, who was named Western Conference Player of the Week, has improved as a facilitator and The Athletic’s Fred Katz details his development in that aspect. Edwards has especially gotten better in reading defensive coverages and exploiting its weaknesses, Katz notes.

NBA Looking At Thunder, Sixers For Possible Player Participation Policy Violations

March 14th, 2025 at 9:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is investigating the Thunder and the Sixers for possible violations of the league’s player participation policy, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN.

According to Charania, the NBA is looking specifically at the Thunder’s March 7 game vs. Portland, in which the team sat its entire starting five: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rest), Chet Holmgren (lower leg contusion), Jalen Williams (wrist sprain), Luguentz Dort (patellofemoral soreness), and Isaiah Hartenstein (nasal fracture re-injury). Cason Wallace (right knee contusion) also missed the game, which wasn’t part of a back-to-back set.

While Holmgren sat out Oklahoma City’s March 5 contest too, the other five players who missed the Portland game were available on both March 5 and March 9.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the only Thunder player who meets the “star” criteria as defined by the player participation policy, but there’s a precedent for teams being penalized for sitting several “non-star” starters in the same game — the Nets were hit with a $100K fine last season for making a similar move.

Still, Rylan Stiles of SI.com (Twitter link) and Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) are among the reporters to question the necessity of investigating the Thunder for their approach to the Portland game, given that they’ve had a strenuous post-All-Star schedule and still won the game by 18 points. Marks suggests that the league should be focused more on lottery-bound teams who may be flaunting the policy in an effort to improve their draft odds.

The Jazz, one such lottery-bound team, were fined $100K two days ago for a player participation policy. The Sixers, who have also seemingly pivoted to prioritizing lottery position in recent weeks, ruled out 11 players for Friday’s game vs. Indiana.

According to Charania, the league is looking at the Sixers due to the recent absences of Paul George (knee/back/finger) and Tyrese Maxey (back/finger). George has missed the past five games, while Maxey has been out for the past six, though head coach Nick Nurse said after Friday’s loss that Maxey should return at some point during Philadelphia’s upcoming six-game road trip (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports).

The league may determine that the absences of George, Maxey, and the rest of the inactive Sixers players are legitimate, but if the club is determined to have violated the player participation policy, it could face a fine of $250K. That’s the amount for a second violation, and the 76ers already received a $100K fine earlier this season.

Northwest Notes: Gobert, McDaniels, Nuggets, Hartenstein

January 25th, 2025 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have rarely looked like a team that was in the Western Conference Finals last year, but they played one of their best games of the season in Saturday’s 133-104 victory over Denver, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Minnesota dominated on offense, shooting 56% from the field and putting seven players in double figures. Anthony Edwards led the way with 34 points and nine assists as the Wolves controlled the game from the opening tip.

“Number one, it’s not getting bored of doing the right thing,” Mike Conley said. “We’ve had spells where we do it for four or five possessions and then we say, ‘Let’s go [isolations], or let’s try something else.’ No, just keep playing fast. Keep throwing the ball ahead, getting transition looks, just getting downhill and sharing the basketball. When we put energy to that side of the basketball, I think it bodes well for us.”

Rudy Gobert, who recently vowed to do a better job of rebounding, kept that promise on Saturday by grabbing 14 boards while also contributing 14 points and five assists. Hine notes that Gobert was able to operate effectively both inside the paint and in the middle of the floor off screens, which created a lot of scoring opportunities.

“He understands when we give it to you, you have to do the right thing with it every time,” Conley added. “It’s a hard thing, especially for Ant sometimes, to want to throw that pass if we don’t get something out of it. For Rudy, it’s just about making the right reads early, not trying to do too much. When we make the right reads, we’re really tough and our offense is not so much a stagnant offense.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Jaden McDaniels continued his recent scoring surge with 13 points, putting him in double figures for the sixth straight game, Hine adds. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch notes that McDaniels has been attacking the basket more often. “This looks like how he played in the first couple years of his career,” Finch said. “He was a lot more aggressive out of the corners, and then the last few years, you know, he was probably more catch-and-shoot out of the corners, but we see him now driving and connecting with Rudy.”
Saturday marked the Nuggets‘ fourth straight loss to the Wolves, who knocked them out of the playoffs in the second round last season, observes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Aaron Gordon explained why Minnesota is a difficult matchup. “They have big wings. They’ve got a big center. Big power forward,” Gordon said. “They’ve got good size and good skill, so this is a very physical team, and you’ve gotta match their physicality. Even Ant, he’s a big two-guard. So just to have a chance with that team, you’ve gotta match their physicality first.”
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein is expected to return to action Sunday against Portland, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Hartenstein missed five games with a strained left calf.

Thunder’s Hartenstein Injures Leg, Out At Least One Week

January 15th, 2025 at 5:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein suffered a minor leg injury against Philadelphia on Tuesday night, straining his left soleus (calf), per an Oklahoma City press statement.

The Thunder announced that the seven-footer will be reassessed in a week.

With Chet Holmgren having been sidelined since November 10 due to a hip fracture, Hartenstein has been serving as the 33-6 Thunder’s starting center. He’s averaging a career-best 11.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks, along with 0.9 steals per night, across his 24 healthy bouts.

In that 118-102 Thunder victory on Tuesday, Hartenstein scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line. He also had an impressive 16 boards to go along with three assists, a block, and a steal.

Hartenstein was poached in free agency following an impressive showing with New York in 2023/24. The Thunder signed him to a lucrative three-year, $87M deal, bolstering their frontcourt with a key veteran presence. Now, Oklahoma City has emerged as the class of the Western Conference, led by perennial MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising star forward Jalen Williams.

The Thunder have a six-game lead on the No. 2 Rockets in the West standings. A steady two-way presence in the interior, the 26-year-old Hartenstein has been a critical component to the club’s early success.

With Hartenstein and Holmgren both out for at least the next week, the 6’5″ Williams will need to step up defensively inside. He will likely jump at center for the Thunder.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Hartenstein, Clingan, Jokic

January 4th, 2025 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

With Karl-Anthony Towns no longer in Minnesota, rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is going through some growing pains this year, expressing frustration about receiving so much attention from opposing defenses, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Edwards admitted that he’s sometimes not sure how to handle traps and double-teams and admitted that it’s “not fun” to have his scoring opportunities limited and the ball taken out of his hands. As Krawczynski details, Edwards’ “trademark spirit” seems to be lacking as of late, and it didn’t help matters that fellow stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum has big games in wins over Minnesota this week.

“He’s doing a really good job. It’s tough,” teammate Julius Randle said. “I know it’s frustrating. But that’s just the player that he is. He’s that special that nobody is going to guard him straight up. We gotta continue to try to help him out.”

As Krawczynski points out, players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum are a few years ahead of Edwards on the developmental curve, so there’s plenty of optimism that the Timberwolves guard will eventually figure out how best to attack defenses by balancing his scoring and play-making.

“I think everybody has been playing good on my team besides me,” Edwards said. “I got to figure it out, figure out ways to help them. They have been hitting shots lately. I got to figure out a way to get myself involved in the offense by not letting the double-team take me out. I’ll figure it out.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Knicks tried their best to retain Isaiah Hartenstein over the summer, but the veteran center believes the outcome of his free agency – he signed with the Thunder, while New York replaced him by trading for Towns – has been “perfect” for both sides, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I’m in a situation here (in OKC) where it’s going really good. They got a great center, one of the best centers in the league,” Hartenstein said before facing his old team on Friday. “So I think for both parties it was perfect. Knowing (Knicks president of basketball operations) Leon Rose, he’ll always find something. He’s been doing a great job, so he made the right adjustment.”
Besides helping to anchor the defense, Hartenstein has added a new dynamic to the Thunder‘s offense with his passing, as Rylan Stiles of SI.com outlines.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan admitted that he’s still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game and that he may have hit the rookie wall “a little bit” during the first few months of his professional career. Head coach Chauncey Billups said he’s got to “do a better job” of putting Clingan in the best possible position to succeed, but noted that the team anticipated it would take the big man some time to get comfortable going up against the best players in the world. “He’s playing against players that are better than players he’s ever seen every single night, to be honest with you,” Billups said. “So the mobility of some of these guys and the versatility of some of these guys have been tough for him.”
Entering the 2024/25 season, Nikola Jokic was a 35.0% three-point shooter across nine years in the NBA. This season, the Nuggets center is making a league-leading 47.9% of his triples. Tony Jones of The Athletic takes a closer look at how Jokic’s work in the offseason and preseason helped the three-time MVP become an even more dangerous offensive player.