Nikola Jokic blasted the Nuggets’ embarrassing effort after the Wizards loss

Through nearly a quarter of this NBA season, Nikola Jokic had another remarkable MVP-caliber campaign. The reigning MVP was absolutely dominant from start to finish, perhaps better than ever. You couldn’t say the same for his middling (and oddly disjointed) Denver Nuggets, who have lost seven of their last 11 games as of this writing.

After the Nuggets fell to the league-worst Washington Wizards on Saturday night — a game in which Jokic produced a masterful performance with 56 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists — the big man was clearly tired of everyone else’s lackluster efforts.

When asked what he wanted to see from his Denver teammates after the embarrassing loss to the Wizards, Jokic, in very Serbian fashion, suggested the other Nuggets should take a pay cut for not doing their job. He expanded on that by saying that perhaps benching one or two of the Nuggets’ underperforming players would also have an effective message going forward.

Hoo boy. It’s not often that Jokic is like this this direct and openly disappointed.

How can you blame him?

Nikola Jokic on what the Nuggets need to see in the next few games: “Reaction. In my country, where I come from, after this kind of stretch, you will get a salary that is a little less than you deserve. So maybe that’s what we should do. Maybe a little motivation that way’

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) December 8, 2024

(He was laughing when he started saying this.) Then he added, “What’s her name? On the bench? I think being on the bench is also a really good motivation.”

— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) December 8, 2024

And here’s a video with Jokic’s biting comments:

What does Nikola Jokic want from the Nuggets?

“Reaction”

Smiling, he said: “In my country, where I’m from, after that kind of stretch you’re going to get a salary that’s a little bit lower than usual. So maybe that’s what we should do. Maybe a little motivation.” pic.twitter.com/WmCJTFplVf

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) December 8, 2024

It’s not hard to see why Jokic would end up being so critical of the other Nuggets. At times this season, it felt like Jokic had to beat other teams by himself, at least in terms of production. Denver is literally the best team in the NBA when it’s on the floor on a statistical basis, and it’s the worst team, by far, when he’s out. Jokic is so great that he can single-handedly lift the Nuggets to wins at times, but it’s not sustainable. He can’t do it every night.

Denver’s problems also seem to be piling on top of each other.

After signing a max contract, Jamal Murray hasn’t pulled his weight. At all. Despite the push to be more versatile, Michael Porter Jr. still looks like a one-dimensional goal forward. Thanks to general manager Calvin Booth, Denver’s bench has been a disaster for the tenth year in a row. Some of that blame also lies with head coach Michael Malone, who hasn’t come up with an adequate lineup without Jokic in a long time, but there’s only so much a coach can do when he only has 7-8 viable nightly rotations.

Even worse, it’s not clear these Nuggets like playing each other anymore. They look like a team with internal tension within the organization that lets it spill out onto the court. Jokic aside, they’ve been making the same careless mistakes on both ends of the floor for six weeks now.

This is no longer an anomaly. This is a trend. It just might be who these Nuggets are. They look like a team ready for a big change in the form of a shake-up or someone being fired. Or both.

It’s not Jokic’s style to call everyone out like that. In fact, while fully justified, I’d be shocked if he asked Denver for a deal at all. He would rather retire after his current contract expires before making a big public scene. Rocking the boat is just not who he is.

So, it speaks volumes that Jokic is now choosing to speak out because he’s breaking character. He is fed up because he wants to win and wants more help to do so. The rest of the Nuggets — players, coaches and front office included — better start listening.