How The Nuggets Are Keeping Nikola Jokic Happy This Offseason

Members of the Denver Nuggets leadership team visited Nikola Jokic in Latvia as the global superstar competes for Team Serbia. 

Jokic has always been proud of his Serbian heritage, and playing international basketball is important to him. Some teams in the NBA prefer their athletes not to compete in international tournaments during the offseason due to concerns over injury. There were rumours this summer about the Bucks not wanting Giannis Antetokounmpo to suit up for Team Greece during EuroBasket. 

The Nuggets are making sure that Jokic knows that they support his participation at EuroBasket. Mozzart Sports reports:

“Denver Nuggets staff members Ben Tenzer and John Wallace attended Serbia’s training. Tenzer serves as the Nuggets’ vice president of basketball operations, after previously being the interim general manager, while Wallace is the vice president of player development. Their main focus, of course, is on monitoring Nikola Jokic, who is expected to lead Serbia at EuroBasket. In addition, the Colorado team will have another representative at the continental championship: Jonas Valanciunas, who will join Jokic next season to form Denver’s center duo. 

The 2024-25 season didn’t go exactly as planned for the Nuggets, though Jokic was his consistently excellent self and would have had a strong argument for his fourth MVP award had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not had another incredible season. 

Denver will return much of their talent from their best teams, like Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray. The major change will come at the forward position, where the team traded Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets in return for Cam Johnson.