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The Denver Nuggets currently sit at 22-8, as of December 26th. They played a Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with 60% of their starting lineup on the shelf with injury. And yet, they came away with the win.
Not only did Denver walk away with the victory, they overcame a 9-point overtime deficit to score 27 points in the final three minutes of the extra session. A 142-138 victory.
Stop if you’ve heard this one before. Nikola Jokic put up a stat-line that no player in NBA history ever has before.
56 points. 15 rebounds. 15 assists. A victory on the national stage with three core guys not even available to play. 18 points in three minutes during the overtime session.
The Joker did not take home the MVP award a season ago as Shai-Gilgeous Alexander burst onto the scene. It should be very different this time around.
Just Give Nikola Jokic the MVP Award
The Denver Nuggets currently sit at 22-8, and have not gotten here by accident. The front office made it a point to improve the depth in the offseason, and it has paid dividends. Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun have already missed extended time. Now, Cam Johnson will be on the shelf for 4-6 weeks.
Literally, none of that matters to Nikola Jokic. Putting up historic numbers once more against a 4X DPOY in Rudy Gobert, he just showed again that nobody could slow him down. The team is winning at a much higher rate than last year, and David Adelman is staking his claim for Coach of the Year along the way.
There is very little standing in Denver’s way at the moment, and Jokic has just been doing some ridiculous things. After averaging a triple-double last year, the 3X MVP is somehow averaging even better statistics across the board just one campaign later.
The Serbian big man is scoring more points and dishing even more assists than he did in 2024-25, when he was MVP runner-up. 29.8 points. Making 60% of his shots from the floor, and a career-high 44% of his triples.
What, we ask, is this man not capable of doing? No player has a stronger case.
Can These Nuggets Compete for a Title in the West?
Of course, Nikola Jokic playing like he’s the best in the world will keep the Nuggets in all title contention discussions. There are the 23-7 San Antonio Spurs and 26-5 Oklahoma City Thunder. Those two teams, as it currently stands, appear to be on a collision course for an all-time playoff series.
Of course, Denver could get right in the way of that. As they do get to full strength and can go back to having a deeper bench once more, the wins should be continuing to pile up. Christian Bruan and Aaron Gordon proved invaluable over the last few seasons, so maintaining heavy winning in their absence is a major deal.
The Nuggets were one good game away from upsetting the Thunder in the second-round of the playoffs. When Jokic and Jamal Murray are on the floor playing together, good things happen.
We’ll see what waits in store for Denver, but great things should be ahead. They should be extremely proud of their latest win, and through the moon that Jokic continues to put up for them as he does. Watch out, Western Conference.
Arguably the most dominant prime ever?
Zach Weiss Zach Weiss is a sports reporter covering the NBA for Heavy. He also hosts a podcast about the Cleveland Cavaliers, “Across the Cavs,” and serves as a sports broadcaster for various institutions in the Greater NYC Area. He wrote for Knup Sports for six years. More about Zach Weiss
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