Jokic downplays the hype of Denver's first-round series against Minnesota.
The Denver Nuggets finished the regular season at 54-28, which was good enough for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and set up a first-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On paper, just about everything went their way.
Jokic led the league in both rebounds and assists per game, something no player had ever done in a single season, and Jamal Murray put together the best year of his career.
Still, when reporters got to Jokic after practice on Wednesday, the three-time MVP sounded more focused on what comes next.
Jokic Keeps the Message Short
"My focus is on this year," Jokic said. "I think we did a good job … in the regular season. Hopefully we can do something nice in these playoffs."
That is pretty much classic Jokic.
He does not get wrapped up in narratives, and he barely entertains the MVP conversation anymore.
His coach David Adelman had more to say about how overlooked his star has been, but Jokic just keeps steering the topic back to what the group can do starting Saturday at Ball Arena.
You can see why he feels good about the regular season too, because his numbers were absurd.
Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game while shooting 56.9 percent from the field, and he did it across 65 games to stay eligible for awards.
The Gobert Matchup Looms Again
Minnesota's defense always starts with Rudy Gobert, and that is where a lot of this series gets interesting.
The four-time Defensive Player of the Year averaged 10.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks this season, and he still owns the paint most nights.
Gobert has given plenty of centers problems going back to his Utah days, but Jokic has not really been one of them.
Across four regular-season meetings with the Wolves this year, Jokic put up 35.8 points, 15 rebounds, and 11.3 assists per game, and he dropped 56 on Christmas Day when he recorded a triple-double that felt like a statement game for the Nuggets.
Gobert will still slow the offense at times, but Denver's spacing around Jokic makes it tough to send help his way.
Why Denver Should Handle Business
There is real playoff history between these two, and it is not all clean for Denver.
The Wolves won their second-round series back in 2024, and that loss still sits somewhere in the locker room.
But this version of the Nuggets looks different.
Aaron Gordon is healthy again, Tim Hardaway Jr. has been a steady floor spacer, and Murray looked like an All-Star version of himself down the stretch.
Minnesota also lost Karl-Anthony Towns in last year's trade for Julius Randle, which takes away the versatile big they used to throw at Jokic.
Denver won the season series 3-1 and should have enough to get through the opening round before a bigger Western matchup awaits.