Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon Show Support for Nuggets HC Adelman After NBA Playoff Exit
Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić praised interim head coach David Adelman after the team suffered a 125-93 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series.
"I think he changed the energy," Jokić told reporters after the game. "I think the guys were woken up a little bit, guys had more energy. He made us believe something."
"I think he did a really good job," he added.
Adelman took over as Denver's head coach after the team fired Michael Malone with just three games remaining in the regular season.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon expressed his support for Adelman as well, endorsing him as their full-time coach for the 2025-26 season.
“I love DA," Gordon told reporters Sunday. "I hope he's here next year. I hope he's our coach. I hope he gets an entire training camp and a whole offseason and a whole training camp to figure out his philosophy. I had DA in Orlando. We have DA here. DA is great. He was excellent for us and I hope that he's here next year."
Nuggets governor Josh Kroenke opted not to directly address the head coaching position after the game, but was impressed with Denver's finish under Adelman.
"Outside of the championship, this is the most proud I've been because these guys have really rallied," Kroenke told ESPN's Tim MacMahon after the game.
The firing of Malone came as a surprise, as the coach won a championship with Denver in 2023. The Nuggets also sat at 47-32 when the team chose to part ways with him.
Players were reportedly "miserable" under Malone before the decision was made to move on, though.
Under Adelman, the Nuggets won their final three games of the regular season before earning a first-round playoff series victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games.
While Denver was ultimately eliminated by Oklahoma City, it was an admirable performance against a Thunder squad that went 68-14 and paced the league with an impressive plus-12.7 net rating (via NBA.com).
Adelman also appears to have support throughout Denver's locker room, with Sam Amick of The Athletic reporting that he's been drawing "rave reviews" from Nuggets players since replacing Malone.
The first-time head coach could be back with the organization next season if Denver's front office shares the same confidence in him that Jokić and Gordon do.
