The Denver Nuggets are cruising through the Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round series and Nikola Jokic explained that winning has become a lifestyle for him and his teammates.
The Nuggets are one win away from making the Western Conference semifinals. However, as Jokic admitted the Nuggets also have built winning habits starting from a group of players a few years back.
“I think, winning is a lifestyle for us. It’s special when you win a lot of games, everyone is happy, everybody is buying into the system,” Jokic said, via Harrison Wind. “Winning became a lifestyle, I was here when we were losing and I don’t wanna go back to that.”
Jokic put up another masterful performance against LeBron James and co. registering 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. The Nuggets won their first title in franchise history during last season when they beat LA in the Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals.
Jokic and co. dominated the matchup sweeping the series last season. They are close to do it again after taking a commanding 3-0 lead last night.
Nuggets, Nikola Jokic have come a long way
The Denver Nuggets built their team from the ground starting with Nikola Jokic and then Jamal Murray. Both players became superstars with Nikola Jokic transforming himself to the most offensively dominant center in the league. With the Jokic gift at hand, the Nuggets were able to build around him and Murray.
They were some bumps on the road including a season-ending injury for Murray during the 2020-21 season. However, Denver kept its faith to its superstar core and brought more help trading for Aaron Gordon three years ago. Gordon blossomed around Jokic, while Michael Porter Jr. added more scoring punch to the group.
“First, you need to learn how to play,” Jokic admitted. “You need 2-3 years together to learn how to play with each other.”
Nikola Jokic and co. will hope to continue their fine run in Game 4 and end the Lakers’ season. However, the end goal remains to become the first team since the Warriors to repeat as NBA champions.
