Now that the Denver Nuggets’ season is over, questions will start to hover about their plans for the future. Will they sign more players? Will they release underperformers from this season? What will they do about David Adelman and the coaching situation? All these questions will be answered in due time, but that doesn’t stop fans from pondering and theorizing right now.
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Following their 125-93 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7, Nikola Jokic was asked about coach Adelman during his exit interview—specifically, whether he wants him to stay with the team next season after replacing 2023 championship-winning coach Michael Malone in the final days leading into the postseason. Of course, the three-time MVP was full of praise for Adelman, given how little time he had to adjust to the team and the results he managed to achieve.
“It’s a tough spot to be. He had 3 games to change something. I think he changed the energy. I think the guys were woken up. The guys had more energy. He made us believe in something,” Jokic said. And nothing could be truer. When the Nuggets fired Mike Malone, they had lost 4 games in a row. Adelman came in, and immediately something changed.
Granted, they were taken to seven games by both their opponents in the playoffs, but context matters. The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the toughest matchups available, having found their footing this season, and the Thunder were one of the best regular-season teams the league has ever seen. Even so, barring a few questionable rotation decisions, Adelman has done an admirable job.
However, when reporters asked Jokic about the possibility of Adelman taking on the head coach role full-time, he seemed unsure. “I mean, I’m not the guy to ask. It’s above my pay grade,” he replied, with a smile on his face.
Nikola Jokic on Nuggets coach David Adelman: “It’s a tough spot to be. He had 3 games to change something. I think he changed the energy. I think the guys were woken up. The guys had more energy. He made us believe in something.”
On Adelman’s future: “It’s above my pay grade.” pic.twitter.com/tpFdhqu0M1
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 18, 2025
This, on paper, puts Adelman’s future up in the air. But it shouldn’t be viewed only in a negative light.
Adelman has only spoken highly of Jokic since taking over, and there’s no overwhelming noise anywhere in the league suggesting he doesn’t deserve a fair shot at the job next year.
In fact, with Jokic often seen coaching the team during playoff timeouts, Adelman even joked about it in the past. When asked whether he was okay with his star player taking over timeouts and drawing up plays, Adelman simply said, “If he wants to coach the team — all good, he’s our best player.”
David Adelman has Aaron Gordon’s vote of confidence
Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets’ clutch hero during this year’s playoff run, has made his stance on Adelman clear—he couldn’t love the man more. Gordon, who came to Denver a few seasons ago from Orlando, had previously worked with Adelman there as well and was full of praise for his coach.
“I love DA. I hope he’s here next year. I hope he’s our coach. I hope he gets a whole offseason and a whole training camp to figure out his philosophy. I had DA in Orlando. We have DA here. DA is great. He was excellent for us,” he said in his presser.
The Nuggets might have a lot of problems to address for next season, but so far, with the faith that the players have in Adelman, their coaching choice doesn’t seem like it’ll be one of them.
