Nikola Jokić is the best basketball player on the planet, and he was also, importantly, the NBA 's best player this season. But he is also almost certainly going to fall short in MVP voting to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for reasons that were on full display in Game 5.

Nikola Jokić lived up to his nickname on Friday, arriving at the Ball Arena wearing a Joker-inspired purple and green suit before helping the Denver Nuggets to a dramatic, overtime 113-104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their playoff series.

May, and we still do not yet (officially) know who the 2025 NBA MVP is. The likely winner is Oklahoma City Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who helped pace the Thunder to a stellar 68-win regular season campaign.

DENVER — After a tough Game 2 in Oklahoma City, Nikola Jokić opted for a costume change ahead of Game 3. With his Denver Nuggets back home and a chance to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals, the Joker dressed up pregame Friday night as, well, the Joker. Seriously.

Discover the inspiring journey of Nikola Jokić, from his humble beginnings in Sombor, Serbia, to becoming one of the most dominant and unique players in NBA history. This video explores the challenges,

In addition to his game-saving defensive plays in the series’ first two contests, Bridges has made up for offensive struggles with averages of 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.7 steals while playing a whopping 44.0 minutes per game.

The conference semifinals series between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder features intense matchups. After the Thunder’s victory in Game 4, the series is now tied at 2-2. Meanwhile, some surprising insights about Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have emerged.