Going into Wednesday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets were in a tough spot. After losing four straight games, they were in danger of slipping into play-in territory. The shock firing of head coach Mike Malone just made things trickier.
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The Nuggets desperately needed a win to keep pace in an unbelievably tight Western Conference playoff race. Being within one loss of five other teams, they turned to the guy who has bailed them out of countless jams before: Nikola Jokic.
The Serbian star took over the whiteboard from interim head coach David Adelman during a third-quarter timeout. Needless to say, he drew his teammates’ rapt attention while dictating the play.
As he so often does, Jokic also ended up with a triple-double and led Denver to a crucial 124-116 road win to keep them in fourth place in the West with just two games to go. And Jokic impressed his teammates with how he handled the coaching duties as well.
After the game, Aaron Gordon said he told Jokic that if he ever coached a team, he’d be his assistant.
“He just knows the game inside and out, through and through, X’s and O’s, and playing it. So he’s easy to listen to. He’s a guy whose voice carries weight,” said Gordon. The comment, in essence, was a praise, veiled as a joke.
Coach Jokic drew up a play for the Nuggets pic.twitter.com/YgXfYDnbCk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 10, 2025
Unfortunately for Jokic and the Nuggets, he won’t be allowed to officially become a player-coach. The NBA has had a rule prohibiting that since the mid-80s.
Dave Cowens was the last player-coach in the league. He played and coached the Boston Celtics in the 1978-79 season. Bill Russell is probably the one who most famously held that title when he succeeded Red Auerbach in 1966 and continued to play and coach the Celtics through 1969.
Going by how effective Jokic was as a coach, Denver fans would be hoping the NBA changed its stance on player-coaches.
Jokic vs JJ Redick: How does that sound?
The MVP discussion pitting Jokic against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still pretty much on. And Jokic may have an ace up his sleeve with his coaching aptitude.
Of all the players in the league, Jokic is the best choice to be a player-coach for his unmatched basketball IQ, feel for the game, and ability to elevate the performance of everyone around him.
Fans had a field day with Jokic’s whiteboard work. One commented, “Would be funny as hell if everyone just balled the f*** out in the playoffs because [of] Jokic’s coaching.” Another said, “Give him MVP and COTY.”
It really would be a fascinating experiment to see Jokic get the chance to handle dual roles in the playoffs. No disrespect to Adelman, whose dad was a successful NBA coach and who designed Denver’s offense.
But could you imagine the added wrinkle of Jokic going against Luka Doncic and LeBron James in a potential playoff series while matching wits with Lakers head coach JJ Redick?
The NBA has been dealing with the PR crisis of subdued ratings all year. But if they want to get a bump in the postseason, let Jokic try something that hasn’t been done in over 45 years. If anyone can handle it, it’s him.
