Jokic's surprising return fuels an MVP showdown between basketball's reigning giants, but injuries loom large over this epic clash.
As far as regular season NBA matchups go, the game going down on Sunday night at Ball Arena is about as big as it gets.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets. The consensus two best teams in the world. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Nikola Jokic. The consensus two best players in the world. National television game in primetime on NBC/Peacock.
It's baffling that the first of four games between these heavyweights is coming not in October, November, December or January, but somehow on the first day of February. The Thunder and Nuggets met in the 2025 Playoffs in what became an instant classic Western Conference Semifinals that went a full seven games. While OKC prevailed, many observers believed that series was the true NBA Finals.
Now that we finally get to see the overwhelming preseason picks for the league's two best teams collide, here's the three most fascinating storylines.
1. Nikola Jokic's Return. Just a few days ago, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the three time Most Valuable Player was in a ramp-up and would be re-evaluated in about one week. That tweet implied two significant things. One, that Jokic would miss the required number of games to qualify for postseason awards such as MVP and All-NBA. Two, that Jokic would miss the much anticipated game against the champs. Somehow, he returned to action three days later against the Clippers. The timing is interesting given the postseason awards cut-off (he can only miss one more game) and the chance to go head to head with the current MVP frontrunner.
2. MVP Showdown. Two years ago, Nikola Jokic won MVP and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished second. One year ago, Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP and Jokic finished second. The current odds have the Thunder superstar as the heavy favorite but Jokic is still second and can make things interesting if he ends up playing just enough games. Regardless, these have been the two best players in the world for three years running now. Any time they go head to head, it's must see TV.
3. Health. This game is going to be hyped up all the way until the tip off. Whichever MVP has the better game, sweeping statements will be made. Whichever team comes out on top, hot takes will be made and posted all over social media. But it's important to remember that neither of these teams are even close to the ones we will see in the postseason. OKC is missing Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell, three of their most important players. Denver is missing Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson, three of their most important players. It's a lot to ask and this advice will fall on deaf ears... but let's try to keep some perspective no matter the outcome.