{"id":910353,"date":"2026-09-29T23:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T23:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910353\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T23:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T23:44:20","slug":"nikola-jokic-reiterates-plan-to-sign-extension-with-nuggets-next-summer-cracks-if-they-want-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910353\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Jokic reiterates plan to sign extension with Nuggets next summer, cracks \u2018if they want me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DenverDenver Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107 steps up to the podium to respond to questions from reporters during the NBA basketball team’s media day Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\n<\/p>\n

DENVER (AP) \u2014 Nikola Jokic reiterated his pledge<\/a> to sign a long-term extension with the Denver Nuggets next summer. Only this time, he added a caveat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they want me,\u201d the three-time NBA MVP cracked Monday at media day.<\/p>\n

The decision to hold off on a new deal makes financial sense, but it has created angst among the fan base. By waiting until next summer, Jokic can sign a five-year supermax contract that would be worth in the vicinity of $350 million. By waiting until next summer, though, there\u2019s always that chance he could exit should the team struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been more than open about it. Hopefully, they trust me,\u201d Jokic said in reference to the front office and staying put.<\/p>\n

The face of the franchise is coming off a season in which he averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists as he finished runner-up in the MVP voting to Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jokic began in Denver. He won the city its first NBA title in 2023. He has no designs on leaving town. His preference is to follow in similar footsteps as Stephen Curry<\/a>, the two-time MVP who recently signed an extension to remain with the Golden State Warriors, the team that drafted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was here when we basically were a so-so team and we won a championship, and we still have a capability and have opportunity to compete on a high level, and to win a championship,\u201d said the 31-year-old Jokic, who was taken in the second round in 2014. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s legacy. You want to be legendary, and you want to be remembered, so I think that\u2019s the way how you do it, in my way of thinking,\u201d<\/p>\n

Jokic still enjoys the grind as much as ever. Well, the games, anyway, and being with teammates such as Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, who helped him deliver that NBA title three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cFighting with your friends against other teams,\u201d Jokic said, \u201cis always a fun thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the front office has to say<\/p>\n

The front office shares Jokic\u2019s view that he will be around for the long haul.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no concerns,\u201d said Ben Tenzer, the executive vice president of basketball operations for Denver.<\/p>\n

But what if the Nuggets get off to a rocky start?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no concerns there,\u201d Tenzer reiterated.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets are chalking up being eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round last April to untimely injuries and a \u201cbad 10 days, that cost us our season,\u201d coach David Adelman explained. They\u2019re leaning more into the notion they won 54 games and were the No. 3 seed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to have these years where you play really well and the ending is not storybook. It\u2019s the exact opposite \u2014 it\u2019s a horror story,\u201d said Adelman, whose squad has made the playoffs in eight straight seasons. \u201cI believe we\u2019re in the mix, like we\u2019ve been throughout all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healing Nuggets<\/p>\n

On the injury front, Braun said an ankle that hampered him last season is healthy again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve grinded hard enough on it all summer and put myself in a good spot,\u201d the high-flying guard said. \u201cI\u2019m ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Same with Gordon, who\u2019s been dealing with soft-tissue ailments, including a tight calf during the playoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got into the league at 18 years old, and I could roll out of bed and play 48 minutes, and then go back to bed,\u201d the 31-year-old Gordon said. \u201cThen wake up the next day like I didn\u2019t play, ready for a back-to-back. I used to make fun of all the old guys for having to get to the gym an hour earlier, two hours early, and do all these warm ups and cool-down exercises, all these like funky tricks of the trade that they picked up throughout their time.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I have a bunch of tricks of the trade. I need to be here much earlier and stay much later, and I need to invest a lot more time warming up and a lot more time cooling down, so I can be available for these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

New addition<\/p>\n

The Nuggets saw promising small forward Peyton Watson<\/a> end up in Cleveland as part of a five-team deal<\/a> in late August. Denver did bring in 37-year-old veteran DeMar DeRozan<\/a>, a six-time All-Star looking for his first championship in his 18th season.<\/p>\n

He picked the Nuggets for a reason \u2014 Jokic & Co.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have the best player in the world,\u201d DeRozan said, \u201canything\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full NBA coverage here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DenverDenver Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107 enters a news conference during the NBA basketball team’s media day Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)
\n\"DenverDenver Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107, back, is framed between the microphone and head coach David Adelman as he responds to questions during the NBA basketball team’s media day Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets center Nikola Joki\u0107 steps up to the podium to respond to questions from reporters during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[229080,64,63,726,3912,1662,478444,590,85],"class_list":["post-910353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ap-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-colorado","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-national-basketball-association-north-american-professional","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}