Nikola Jokić bluntly says Nuggets are 'far away' from a title: 'If we were in Serbia, we would all get fired'

It didn’t help that Jokić had to shoulder a bigger load for the Nuggets, as the team was without Aaron Gordon for multiple games in the series. The Nuggets have been a far better team when Gordon is healthy and on the court.

The Timberwolves, however, were also without some of their stars during the series. The team managed to win Game 6 despite Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu sitting out.

Timberwolves close out testy series with Jokić, Nuggets

It was quite the win for the Timberwolves, who did a lot of talking during the series. The team first raised eyebrows after Game 2, when Jaden McDaniels called out the Nuggets for playing poor defense. McDaniels boldly named names during his trash talk, adding more drama to the series.

Following the team’s Game 6 win, head coach Chris Finch even got in on the act, saying the Timberwolves were motivated after the Nuggets “chose” to play Minnesota in the first round.

And then there was the Timberwolves’ social media team, which had some fun after Jokić was eliminated.

While the Nuggets have consistently been a playoff team with Jokić, Thursday marked the first time since the 2021-22 NBA season the team was eliminated in the first round.

The Timberwolves followed up that season with an NBA championship. And while the same outcome is possible for the 2026-27 Nuggets, big changes may need to be made in order for the team to once again reach that apex.