Nikola Jokic Has Honest Admission About Facing Lakers Last Season

During the NBA playoffs last year, the Denver Nuggets seemed like the team of destiny from start to finish in the Western Conference, as no team was really able to handle them in a seven-game series.

The Nuggets lost a total of four games in four rounds on their way to the franchise’s first NBA title, with only the Phoenix Suns getting the best of Nikola Jokic and company more than once.

The Suns beat the Nuggets in consecutive games during the second round of the playoffs, but then Denver turned it on and never looked back as they lost only one game from there on out in the postseason, dropping one game to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

Although the Nuggets were able to sweep the Los Angeles Lakers in four games during the Western Conference Finals, according to DNVR Nuggets via NBACentral, Jokic believes that Los Angeles gave them the toughest challenge during the playoffs last year.

“It was probably the toughest series that we had (last year),” Jokic said.

“It was probably the toughest series that we had (last year)”

– Nikola Jokic on the Lakers

(Via @DNVR_Nuggets ) pic.twitter.com/mPsV96SJNv

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 17, 2024

With the exception of Game 3 in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena, every game of the series was close, with the Nuggets winning by no more than six points in the three other games.

That said, it isn’t all that surprising that Jokic would dub the Lakers the team’s toughest challenge last year, even though Los Angeles couldn’t win a game in the Western Conference Finals.

This time around, there won’t be a trip to the NBA Finals on the line for both teams as they’ll want to advance to the second round, which means the stakes are a bit lower, but there’s the revenge factor for the Lakers, which could make for a good series.

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