Through the first ten years of his career, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets has a resume that rivals the best NBA players of all-time. Whether it be winning the franchise’s first title in 2023, winning three MVP awards in four years, or his historic triple-doubles, Jokic has been the greatest player to put on a Nuggets uniform.
Jokic is also one of the longest-tenured players in the league, spending his entire career in Denver so far. While many other top players have moved around in hopes of winning a title, Jokic has stayed put and has no plans of leaving.
When asked about his future with the Nuggets during the team’s preseason media day, Jokic made it clear that he only has eyes for Denver.
“My plan is to be a Nugget forever,” he said.
Jokic is the only player in league history to both average a triple-double for a season and win three MVP awards in four years. He already leads the franchise in many statistical categories and has been the most successful player in the team’s history.
Jokic’s Potentially Historic Extension
As he’s spent his entire career in Denver, the Nuggets have the opportunity to sign the Serbian center to one of the biggest contracts in NBA history. He is currently in the third year of a five-year, $276 million extension he signed with the team in 2022.
Jokic has a player option for the 2027-28 season, but over the summer, he opted not to hold contract extension talks with the team. While that became a cause for concern, his latest comments quell the idea of a potentially disastrous future with him leaving.
However, due to not signing a deal this summer, Jokic now can ink a four-year, $293 million contract set to replace his 2027 player option. When asked, Jokic said he doesn’t think about how much money he will make as a reason to either stay with or leave the team.
“I mean, I don’t think about it,” Jokić said, according to the Associated Press. “I think those contract extensions come as a reward, as something that is natural to the sport. Especially in today’s NBA how you see how the salary cap is growing and everything.”
If he were to eventually sign that monstrous deal, Jokic would, at present, become the highest-paid player annually in the NBA. Only Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics are on larger deals, but both are over the span of five years. Even with his current contract, Jokic is still the third-highest-paid player in the league right now.
The money he is paid now, and potentially in the future, is astronomical, but worth it for the Nuggets to keep Jokic. He finished last season in the top three in points, rebounds, and assists per game, and has been a perennial MVP candidate for the past half-decade.
New-Look Nuggets In 2025-26
Since winning their first title in 2023, the Nuggets have yet to reach that same peak. They’ve lost in the second round of the postseason in each of the past two years, and despite taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7, they haven’t been as successful in the loaded Western Conference.
Accordingly, Denver’s front office has made some massive changes over the past few months. It began at the end of the regular season, when the team fired head coach Michael Malone to bring in David Adelman, whom they’ve now committed to long-term.
The Nuggets also made big roster changes over the offseason, most notably trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. They also signed Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Jonas Valanciunas as rotational players who fit well with Jokic on the court.
When asked about the team’s new signings, Jokic only had positive things to say.
“Bruce is back. We won with him. Need to save his career again,” he said jokingly. “We have Cam and Jonas — we have a bunch of new guys. We have (DaRon) Holmes healthy. We’ll see. It’s a new energy, new beginning for us. Hopefully, we can do something.”
Denver is set to lose Russell Westbrook after he was a solid contributor last season, but many expect this new Nuggets lineup to be near the top of the league. The Jokic-led team currently holds the third-best odds to win the 2025 NBA Finals according to ESPN Bet, and was ranked as the second-best team in the West by a list on NBA.com.
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