Nikola Jokic Stats Tonight: Reigning MVP tallies triple-double as Thunder blow out Nuggets (Oct. 23)

After a lackluster preseason, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets began their 2024-25 regular season at home on Thursday night, facing Western Conference rivals, the OKC Thunder. The Thunder dominated the Nuggets en route to a 102-87 win.

Jokic, fresh off leading Serbia to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, had a challenging preseason, with the Nuggets posting a 1-4 record. Thursday’s season opener gave Jokic and the team an opportunity to build momentum for a strong run in the competitive Western Conference, but they fell flat.

No Nuggets player reached the 20-point mark, with their best player Nikola Jokic being limited to 16 points, although he also tallied 13 assists and 12 rebounds.

Below are Nikola Jokic's stats from the game.

PLAYER	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OREB	DREB	STL	BLK	TO	PF	=+/-
Nikola Jokić	35:13	16	12	13	6	13	46.2	1	3	33.3	3	4	75.0	4	8	2	1	2	3	-9

Russell Westbrook, in his Nuggets debut, shot 2-for-10 and finished with six points. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon had 12 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 15 and Christian Braun added 16.

The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who tallied 28 markers, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Chet Holmgren who had 25 points, 14 boards and four blocks.

Nikola Jokic says the Nuggets need to improve on everything after rough preseason

With their 1-4 preseason record being the second-worst in the Western Conference — just ahead of the winless Sacramento Kings — the Nuggets faced concerns, especially regarding their bench depth.

The offseason saw Denver lose key players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson, while they added Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric.

Asked about what areas the Nuggets need to improve, Nikola Jokic told Denver media they need to improve across the board.

“ Everything. We didn’t play ihthe preseason the way we were supposed to be playing. The defense wasn’t where it was supposed to be. We couldn’t make shots, so we played badly and poorly the whole preseason. Hopefully, we can do something a little bit better." (14:29 mark)

Last season, the Nuggets and Thunder tied for the best record in the West at 57-25, with OKC claiming the top seed due to the tiebreaker. Jokic won the MVP award.

The Nuggets ranked last in 3-pointers attempted, averaging just 31.2 per game, and were second to last in free throws attempted at 19.9 per game. However, they ranked fourth in field-goal percentage at 49.6%, third in assists with 29.5 per game, and were also in the top 10 for rebounds and blocks per game.