Nikola Jokić doesn’t want the Denver Nuggets fans who booed the team during Saturday’s 141-135 overtime win to return to Ball Arena.
“We were booed in our first home game, and I think the fans who booed us don’t need to come anymore,” Jokić told reporters. “If you follow us, you know we’ve never given up and we’ve come back from much worse situations. So if they ask me, they’re not welcome anymore.”
The Nuggets were down by 23 points in the game, but rallied to victory after some fans expressed their displeasure with the early deficit.
There may have been some frustration from Nuggets fans after the team lost in the first round of the playoffs last season and then lost its first game of 2026-27 by double digits to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When the Nuggets fell behind by so many points, it looked like there would be an early losing streak to start the season.
However, Jamal Murray and Jokić had other ideas.
Murray scored 42 points behind eight three-pointers, while Jokić did a little bit of everything to achieve a triple-double of 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. He is only 10 triple-doubles behind Russell Westbrook’s 209, the record in NBA history.
Both stars had to do even more offensively because the Nuggets were playing without Cam Johnson, Alpha Diallo, Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones, which could have explained the poor start.
“It’s just, you know, nothing goes the way you want it to, they’re making shots and you’re not making shots,” Jokić said of the early deficit. “It was just bad energy and it takes a few minutes for you to get over it.”
Denver remains at home for its next game against the Golden State Warriors on Monday and should have a chance to build some initial momentum considering its opponent is 0-3 to start the season.
It’s safe to say, though, that fans won’t boo as loudly this time around if the Nuggets fall behind given Jokić’s comments.
Gn sports
