Nikola Jokic had the greatest statistical season in NBA history last season.
Nikola Jokic broke various records and also became the first center to average a triple-double.
This season, Jokic and the Denver Nuggets have a chance to do something truly special after a strong offseason.
The 30-year-old is the favorite to win his fourth MVP award this season and based on his track record there’s a strong chance it will happen.
Photo by Christina Pahnke – sampics/Corbis via Getty ImagesTim Legler says Jonas Valanciunas will allow Nikola Jokic to have longer stretches where he can rest
One of the biggest moves the Denver Nuggets made this offseason that will greatly benefit Jokic is their addition of Jonas Valanciunas.
The Nuggets now have another highly skilled big man who can step in and make an impact during the non-Jokic minutes.
That was one of the biggest problems with the Nuggets last season. Every time Jokic took a rest, Denver crumbled.
But now the Nuggets have a solid bench and Valanciunas will alleviate a lot of the pressure off Jokic.
Tim Legler praised Valanciunas and talked about how Jokic will benefit from having him.
“I’ve got to give the nod to Valanciunas. What a different look their second unit is going to have.
“Now you’ve got another guy who’s a legit seven-footer who plays like a highly skilled big man. Highly skilled. So you can run a lot of the dribble handoff stuff at the top of the key that you like to run with Jokic.
“You can post him up, and if you get single coverage, he’s probably going to get a good shot for himself. He’s a good passer out of the post if you do want to run some traffic at him. He is excellent at diving, catching the ball, keeping it high, and getting it to the rim really quickly before anybody can react to it.
“Just so impressed with what their second unit looked like, and they played some together, which Adelman said before the game he hadn’t really had a chance to explore very much in camp.
Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
“I think probably the most impressive player in the game, honestly, was Valanciunas. Last year, the numbers were crazy with Jokic on and off the floor: plus 10 on the floor, minus nine off. That’s a 19-point differential.
“We all know the depth was a problem, but they didn’t just add guys to play. They specifically added a big. They haven’t really had a backup center. Not like this. So now they have another big.
“I think it’s just going to mean longer stretches where you can sit Jokic, rest him a little bit more, and not worry about this huge drop off because you can run your offense very similarly with Valanciunas on the floor.
“That to me was the number one takeaway by far. How good he looked, how good he is, how skilled he is, and what an incredible acquisition for the Nuggets.”
The Denver Nuggets appear to be the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Nuggets took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games during the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Jokic played at an incredibly high level, but unfortunately his supporting cast didn’t do enough as the Thunder took Game 7 on their home floor.
However, going into this season the Nuggets made moves to bolster their roster. The Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Johnson who’s an elite two-way talent.
They also added key pieces to their bench, which included Valanciunas, Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Nuggets now have the team in place that can dethrone the Thunder and win a championship.