{"id":123781,"date":"2025-09-06T18:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123781\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T18:51:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:51:08","slug":"new-nuggets-player-reveals-unique-conversation-with-nikola-jokic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123781\/","title":{"rendered":"New Nuggets Player Reveals Unique Conversation With Nikola Jokic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Denver Nuggets made a splash earlier this offseason when they traded forward Dario Saric to the Sacramento Kings in a one-for-one swap for center Jonas Valanciunas. The trade didn’t come without controversy<\/a>, however, as Valanciunas’ European agent had already committed to a contract with Greek club Panathinaikos before the trade between Sacramento and Denver occurred.<\/p>\n

Once Panathinaikos learned that the Nuggets were pursuing Valanciunas’ services and that the trade wasn’t merely a salary dump, the club backed off and blamed the center’s agent in an effort to preserve a positive relationship with the Nuggets franchise and the NBA as a whole. <\/p>\n

New look Nuggets:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jonas Valanciunas
\u2014 Cam Johnson
\u2014 Nikola Jokic
\u2014 Jamal Murray
\u2014 Aaron Gordon
\u2014 Peyton Watson
\u2014 Christian Braun pic.twitter.com\/sI0fzTqGeW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 StatMuse (@statmuse) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

While the saga surrounding Valanciunas’ arrival ruffled some feathers in the Denver fanbase, things seemed to have smoothed over since he’s been with the team. Valanciunas especially seems to be building a good rapport with fellow European center Nikola Jokic and he even revealed an interesting conversation he had with the three-time MVP.<\/p>\n

When asked by a reporter if he’s had the chance to talk to Jokic about the upcoming season since arriving in Denver, Valanciunas had a very predictable answer if you know anything about Nikola Jokic’s favorite off-the-court pastime. <\/p>\n

“Yeah, we talked about horses,” Valanciunas said. “He gave me some advice.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about horses.\u201d \ud83d\ude02 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave me some advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonas Valanciunas on his conversations with Nikola Jokic \u2935\ufe0fpic.twitter.com\/mOfunFuwzo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) September 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Jokic has long been a passionate horse owner, but this summer especially, he’s gone viral multiple times for his emotional and endearing reactions when one of his beloved horses wins a harness race. When one of Jokic’s horses won his hometown race in Serbia this summer, his post-race celebration showed an entirely new side to the typically stoic NBA star. <\/p>\n

Valanciunas (Lithuania) and Jokic (Serbia) are both currently competing at EuroBasket, and both players are having a somewhat successful tournament. Lithuania and Serbia each finished the group stage with 4-1 records, earning knockout stage berths while falling short of a bye into the Round of 8.<\/p>\n

Valanciunas and Lithuania handled Latvia in their Round of 16 matchup on Saturday morning, moving on to the Round of 8 against the winner of Greece vs. Israel. Jokic and Serbia are set to take on a dangerous Finland team featuring a red-hot Lauri Markkanen, with tip-off for the game scheduled for 2:45 ET\/11:45 PT on Saturday. <\/p>\n

Jonas Valanciunas with the TOUGH bucket over Kristaps Porzingis plus the foul \ud83d\ude24<\/p>\n

(via @EuroBasket<\/a>)pic.twitter.com\/D0sPziRO38<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Because of their team’s respective positioning in the bracket, the only round where Jokic and Valanciunas could potentially square off is in the championship game on Sept. 14. <\/p>\n

\u2022 NBA Legend Calls Out Denver Nuggets for ‘Wasting’ Nikola Jokic’s Prime<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Alperen Sengun’s International Teammate Disagrees With Nikola Jokic Nickname<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 Why Nikola Joki\u0107’s 2026 All-Star Weekend May Look Different<\/a><\/p>\n