Maybe it comes with the territory of finally being recognized as one of the NBA’s elite teams. Whatever the reason though, the stories about the Denver Nuggets have gotten increasingly dramatic over the years. Just think, it was just a few months ago that they booted general manager Calvin Booth longtime head coach Michael Malone right before the postseason, both contributing to a toxic workplace environment. The latest tidbit about Nuggets took place long before Booth and Malone were dismissed.
Yet, it may be an even more eye-popping nugget.
DeMarcus Cousins Makes Insane Claim About Former Nuggets Teammate Nikola Jokic
“The part that makes me love (Nikola) Jokic as much as I do is more so his personality,” former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins tells the Straight Game Podcast. “It’s the fact that if you ever get a chance to just hold a conversation with him and he tells you a little bit about himself, He’ll let you know off rip he really don’t give a ***** about this ****.
….
Like this is his second or third favorite thing to do. Maybe third or fourth… That’s the scary part about all of it.”
Demarcus Cousins says Nikola Jokic considered retirement instead of signing a Supermax deal with the Nuggets 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/4UaKA5V85I
— Straight Game Podcast (@straightgamepod) July 31, 2025
“When I was with Denver, our lockers were next to each other… He was like, ‘You know Cuz, I think I might retire after this contract.”
As Cousins played with the Nuggets in 2021-22, the contract extension that he’s likely referring to is the one that Nikola Jokic signed in July 2022.
Is It True?
A five-year, $264 million deal that was at the time the richest in league history, the concept of Jokic turning it down sounds ludicrous. Yet, Jokic’s well-documented love of equestrianism does make it believable that playing basketball isn’t his favorite activity in the world.
Just look at how the three-time NBA MVP reacted to his horse winning a race to his team winning a title and him winning NBA MVP Finals MVP in 2023 (note: this is a jokoserious statement).
Jokic’s horse winning a race vs. the Nuggets winning a title
This man is hilarious 😭 pic.twitter.com/6D9qrCCwjL
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 27, 2025
An emotional Nikola Jokic reacts after watching his horse win 🥲
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 27, 2025
Nikola Jokic is presented with the Bill Russell Trophy as the 2022-23 #NBAFinals MVP 👏 pic.twitter.com/enfQxUJzZx
— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2023
However, that doesn’t mean Jokic was really looking to retire after the 2021-22 season. Furthermore, it’s unclear how Jokic would’ve had that discussion with Cousins in the locker room about a teammate’s extension. The only time Denver signed players to extensions was in the offseason. One would want to take Cousins’s claim at face value, but it’s not easy to.
His story has to be corroborated.
© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
