Timberwolves’ Jaden McDaniels in full Nuggets hater mode again after Game 3

Jaden McDaniels caused some jaws to drop and some eyebrows to get raised after he called out the entire Denver Nuggets roster for being bad on defense, even going as far as to call out Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, among others, by name in the aftermath of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 119-114 win in Game 2 over the Nuggets.

That kind of brazen trash talk has certainly backfired for others in professional sports in the past, but McDaniels knew better than to talk that kind of smack and not rise to the challenge. McDaniels was brilliant for the Timberwolves in their 113-96 demolition of the Nuggets in Game 3, as he backed up everything he said and then some while taking a 2-1 series lead.

McDaniels, however, is far from done in running his mouth against the Nuggets. In his postgame presser, he continued to be in full hater mode, continuing to unleash verbal war against the Timberwolves’ archrival.

“Just playing Denver really motivates us. That’s enough for real. Just playing against them, we don’t really care what they say, just the number and the name across their chest make us play like this,” McDaniels said, via MrBuckBuck on X (formerly Twitter).

Jaden McDaniels:
"Just playing Denver really motivates us. That's enough for real. Just playing against them, we don't really care what they say, just the number and the name across their chest make us play like this"

Via @ohnohedidnt24 pic.twitter.com/a7WVH1zCuY

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 24, 2026

McDaniels knows that he is in a locker room full of competitors who never shrink from the moment, which might what instilled the requisite confidence in him to talk that kind of smack against a Nuggets team whose core had already won a title back in 2023.

At the very least, Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu reassured McDaniels that he and the entire team has the forward’s back especially as he continues to talk trash.

“What he said in the media, at the end of the day we’re in the locker room with him. We going to war with him. He led the way, he did a great job guarding Murray the whole game, full court. The main thing we want to let him know is we got his back,” Dosunmu said in his postgame presser, via Ryan Eichten of Canis Hoopus.

Ayo Dosunmu on Jaden McDaniels’ in Game 3:“What he said in the media, at the end of the day we’re in the locker room with him. We going to war with him. He led the way, he did a great job guarding Murray the whole game, full court. The main thing we want to let him know is we got his back.”

— Ryan Eichten (@reichten.bsky.social) 2026-04-24T05:23:48.167Z

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