Jokic responds to fan criticism

After the Denver Nuggets' Monday loss, Nikola Jokic openly assessed the team's struggles and the attitude of the Ball Arena crowd. The Serbian star said he stands by what he had said earlier about the whistles coming from the home stands recently.

Jokic said he had played in much harder conditions in Europe, in settings ranging from halls with 10 people to crowds of 150,000. Stressing that he is not used to fans whistling at their own team, the player said European stands do not behave that way either, and that those who do so are not real fans in his view.

With this defeat, the Nuggets are at one win and two losses after the first three games of the 2026-27 NBA season. The team's biggest problem stands out as defense. Jokic recalled that warnings about defense were also made last season and said the problems cannot be solved overnight.

Denver has a heavy road schedule in the coming weeks. The team will host the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday and the Phoenix Suns on Friday as part of the Emirates NBA Cup, before returning to Denver. Asked which areas the team needs to fix, Jokic gave a clear and blunt assessment.