The Denver Nuggets have seemingly solved the backup center issue that has troubled the franchise all throughout the Nikola Jokic. The front office went out and traded for Jonas Valanciunas earlier in the offseason to spot some minutes for the three-time MVP, and after some questions arose of whether or not the Lithuanian seven-footer would actually put on a Nuggets jersey this fall, it’s confirmed that he will be in Denver and ready to compete for a championship.
Valanciunas and Jokic are both representing their respective countries in EuroBasket currently, as both Lithuania and Serbia have advanced into the knockout stage of the tournament. They have not met up on the court yet, but Valanciunas did say that the two shared a conversation recently.
He kept the details of the talk short, but it was clear that the talk didn’t have a whole lot to do with basketball.
“Yeah, we talked about horses, he gave me some advice,” Valanciunas said.
Nikola Jokic is already giving Denver Nuggets newcomer Jonas Valanciunas some of his horse knowledge 😄🐎
Short and bold answer: https://t.co/dLiY2x4cBk pic.twitter.com/VJnxjmRitS
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) September 5, 2025
Everyone in Denver knows how much the Joker loves his horses in Serbia. When he’s at home in the offseason, he’s generally spotted the most at the track, celebrating with his team and the jockeys when they win. His team had one victory this past summer that even drew a few tears from the Serbian superstar, a celebration that was on par with when he won Finals MVP for the Nuggets in 2023.
If Valanciunas and Jokic were to cross paths in the tournament, it would have to come in the final, as Lithuania and Serbia are on opposite sides of the 16-team single-elimination bracket. Lithuania takes on Latvia while Serbia will battle against Finland. Both games are on Saturday.
