The Denver Nuggets are undoubtedly the best team in the NBA right now and they showed that against the up and coming OKC Thunder on Sunday. Nikola Jokic and co. dominated the SGA-led OKC through three quarters and remained perfect to start the NBA season.
Jokic faced Chet Holmgren at the paint and dominated the matchup with his sheer strength and basketball IQ. The Joker was asked about Holmgren during the postgame press conference and shared a piece of advice going forward.
“He’s a really talented guy, but this is his first year. He’s still learning everything,” said Jokic, via Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “I think he needs experience. I think he needs to be a little bit “fatter”, to be honest.”
Holmgren had 17 points in the first half but Jokic made sure they did not matter as he walked to 22 points in the first half, including a layup at the buzzer, to give Denver a 69-51 edge at the break.
The 2-time MVP played just 30 minutes in the lopsided contest and finished with a smooth 28-point, 14-rebound performance as the Nuggets smooth-sailed their way to a 3-0 start in the start of the 2023/24 season campaign.
“You want to see that stuff early. Great player, great team, you want to go back and watch the film and take things away for not only our next matchup with them but also other teams,” Chet Holmgren said in the aftermath of the loss.
“We’ll see similar things. Obviously, Jokic’s a unique player, we won’t see too many like him but we’ll see patterns throughout the season.”
Holmgren has been started his career in the NBA with some all-around performances, despite coming off a season ending injury that made him missed last season. Now, in his rookie season, he got to experience the toughest big man matchup in the NBA in just his third game of his career.
Nikola Jokic on Chet Holmgren:
“He’s a really talented guy, but this is his first year. He’s still learning everything. … I think he needs experience. I think he needs to be a little bit fatter, to be honest.”https://t.co/rSoFsYs2UF
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) October 29, 2023
