DENVER, COLORADO - JANUARY 21: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets looks on against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at Ball Arena on January 21, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/Getty Images)
Don’t ask Nuggets’ Jokic about turning 30, even if his game is aging like wine..
DENVER – When it comes to gifts, Nikola Jokic is a man of simple tastes. He doesn’t want much, and he didn’t receive much on Wednesday when he begrudgingly celebrated his 30th birthday. But he did appreciate the tea collection he got from one of the Nuggets’ new team security officials. The reigning MVP has been known to occasionally request a cup of tea in the locker room. “I like to drink tea,” Jokic said simply. Denver’s most decorated athlete is showing no signs of a looming decline as he enters his 30s. His candidacy for a fourth MVP trophy is being threatened by
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – the current front-runner, according to ESPN’s latest “straw poll” of prospective voters. But statistically, this is Jokic’s finest season, regardless of whether he ends up securing the hardware to show for it. He is averaging 29.7 points (third in the league), 12.7 rebounds (third), 10.2 assists (second) and 1.8 steals (fourth) going into Denver’s clash with the Lakers on Saturday. Only Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson have averaged a triple-double over the course of an entire season. “He’s playing the best basketball of his life,” coach Michael Malone said, agreeing with Jokic’s own recent assessment. The Nuggets celebrated the landmark birthday with a serenade and cupcakes after they practiced for the first time since the All-
Star break. Then Jokic spoke with local reporters, getting peppered with questions about his 30th. He volleyed each and every one of them with the perfunctory skill of someone who’s been mastering not only basketball, but his media persona, for a full decade now. Do you feel any wiser at 30? “I don’t know. I don’t even think about it, so I don’t know.” If there’s one thing you could change about this team (a birthday wish, perhaps), what would it be?
