Nikola Jokic’s desire to be Tim Duncan will elevate the Denver Nuggets

At NBA Media Day, superstar Nikola Jokic set his sights high, stating that “I want to be the Tim Duncan of the Denver Nuggets.” On the surface, NBA media day is designed to draw out these quotes, but it shows Jokic isn’t satisfied with the status quo in Denver Nuggets. That’s not to say that he’s unhappy with the way things are. Instead, he wants to build the Nuggets into a perennial title contender, and he’s committed to doing so.

Jokic is under contract for at least five seasons, and that’s an eternity for small-market teams with an NBA superstar, allowing them to focus on building around him without worrying that he’ll leave in free agency. Better yet, he’s only 27 years old and should continue to play at or near his MVP level for most, if not all, of those remaining years. Despite that, he still lags far behind Duncan, but perhaps not for long.

Nikola Jokic might not catch up to Tim Duncan, but he may not need to.

Although Jokic, like Duncan, is already a two-time MVP winner, Duncan was a three-time champion by his eighth season. Meanwhile, Jokic has none as he enters his eighth year in the NBA. Winning titles is hard, we all know that, including Jokic, who understands that he won’t even draw comparisons to Duncan if he doesn’t win a ring.

“I need to win a couple of championships to be him,” Jokic also stated during NBA media day, showing that he’s aware of what he needs to do, albeit off on the exact number. Unless he wins five titles in the next ten years, Duncan’s benchmark appears to be well out of reach. Still, Jokic striving to be Duncan, is a great thing.

Can the Nuggets reel off five titles after not winning one in the last 45 seasons? Probably not, but they’ve still built a very good team. Unfortunately, injuries to Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., their second and third options, have slowed the team’s progress.

They combined to play just 9 games last season after averaging a combined 42 points per game in the 2020–2021 season. Still, Jokic carried the Nuggets to 48 wins without them, which is very Duncan-esque. Better yet, the Nuggets should be at least five games better next season with them, which will give the team a much better chance in a more open West.

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets could be the next great Western Conference team.

The last time the Nuggets were fully healthy in the playoffs, they made it to the West Finals by defeating the heavily favored Los Angeles Clippers, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers. Fortunately, the Lakers are likely no longer a threat, nor are the Utah Jazz, and the Nuggets’ core are all well under 30, possibly allowing them to outlast the Warriors and Phoenix Suns, the two best teams in the West last season.

Chris Paul is 37 and could either fall off or retire in the next season or two, while the Warriors have unprecedented salary cap issues that could break apart their team. That perhaps means that players such as Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green will be gone after next season, while superstar Stephen Curry will be 35. Those things bode well for Denver, and they could peak at the right time.

In fact, it’s possible that we see Jokic in the NBA Finals at some point, and maybe even win a couple of championships. However, winning those with the Nuggets and retiring with the team is key to his legacy. After all, while the Spurs had plenty of good teams prior to Duncan, they needed him to put the franchise on his shoulders and lead them to their first of many championships. Whether it’s two titles or five, if Jokic can do the same, then he might be the next Duncan.

Overall, Jokic isn’t likely to duplicate Duncan’s success exactly, but few can. Instead, he can follow Duncan’s lead and transform the Denver Nuggets into a championship organization.