Coach David Adelman's Denver Nuggets are coming off of a first round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2026 NBA Playoffs and hoped to turn the page in preseason action against the Utah Jazz. Star center Nikola Jokic brought his team to see Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes play Texas Tech and then hit the court to show off his passing skills at Coors Event Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Jokic was up to his old tricks as he posted up Jazz center Lauri Markkanen in the corner near the three-point line. He flipped a perfectly timed behind-the-back pass to Cam Johnson in the opposite corner, who knocked down a pure corner three to extend the Nuggets' first quarter lead.
Article Continues BelowNikola Jokic isn't real 😆
Like, HOW?!?!pic.twitter.com/7d0kdITgyD https://t.co/eZFWV3ILDM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 4, 2026
Jokic is a key cog alongside Jamal Murray, who shrugged off trade talk and decided to focus on his team's pursuit of a championship recently. Coach Adelman's team also signed a quick-witted, well known guard to help Murray in the backcourt.
Nuggets fans will enter this season with the usual high expectations, and Jokic's outstanding all-around play is once again the biggest reason why. Murray and Jokic aren't the same players they were in 2023, when they won the franchise's only NBA title, but they are on each on the same plane ahead of October 22's season opener in Oklahoma City.
Coach Adelman will tinker with lineup rotations as Denver continues to find its identity before the dawn of a new season. Jokic, for his part, looks every bit the one-man army fans expect him to be again this season with scores of contenders looking to test themselves against the Nuggets big man once.