Nikola Jokic has spent most of his career insisting he doesn't read his own headlines, and the three-time MVP offered a lighthearted explanation for how he keeps the outside noise at bay after Denver's comeback win over the Golden State Warriors.
Asked how he handles emotional coaching and external chatter, Jokic described what he called a developed skill — delivered with his trademark dry humour.
"He's definitely kind of, I don't want to say emotional, but he's saying what he thinks," Jokic said. "I have a great power of not listening to people when they're especially in that kind of bad emotions. Sometimes bad, sometimes good. I have a really good power of not listening."
The Nuggets centre grinned as he framed the ability as something he had cultivated through years of league-wide attention, MVP debates, and the constant churn of hot takes that surround every superstar in the modern NBA.
Jokic also couldn't resist needling WNBA rookie phenomenon Caitlin Clark, who had recently named him her favourite NBA player in a separate interview. Jokic, never one to accept praise at face value, offered his own theory for the compliment.
"We had the same agent. That's why she said it," Jokic deadpanned, drawing laughter from the room.
Beyond the jokes, Jokic struck a serious tone when assessing Denver's performance in the comeback victory. He acknowledged a sluggish opening but praised his team's response.
"It was a good response by us," Jokic said. "I think that the first half was not that bad. Maybe we can make shot, but the second half were much better. The intensity, the energy, the running, the shooting at the end. We made 19 threes."
The Nuggets' ability to win games in different styles has become a recurring theme for Jokic, who sees adaptability as essential as the regular season winds down.
"I mean, we found a way," Jokic said. "We played some interesting games and some games with a lot of points, and we just found a way to win a game. In this time, this period, is probably the most important thing."
The most pointed remarks came when Jokic addressed Denver's defensive inconsistency. After allowing only 40 points in the second half, he set a clear benchmark.
"It's kind of hard, but I think that's should be our goal," Jokic said. "We cannot have 19-point score and then 45-point score on us. So we just need to have some standards and try to make them as much as possible."
Jokic also took a rare moment of self-deprecation, noting that his own ball security had improved in the win.
"I'm leading us in that stat," he said with a laugh when the topic of turnovers came up. "I did a little bit better job, so maybe that's the reason why we had so little turnovers."
With Denver locked into their postseason positioning, the combination of Jokic's unshakeable temperament and the team's growing defensive identity could prove decisive. The humour may keep the locker room loose, but the standards he set after the Golden State win suggest Jokic is already thinking past April.
