Nikola Jokic Says a 'Leader Sometimes Needs to Be Bad Guy... Something I Cannot Be' in Nuggets Video

Nikola Jokić is arguably the best player in the league and already has a Hall of Fame resume at 31 years old, but he believes he still has another step to take when it comes to being a leader for the Denver Nuggets.

"I think a leader is someone who, sometimes, needs to be bad guy, and I think that's something I cannot be," he said during a sit-down interview aired on the team's YouTube page on Saturday (6:30 mark). "When I get over that border—or take that next step—and stop worrying about whether they're going to like me, sometimes you need to be the bad guy."

When asked if being the "bad guy" means "saying the hard things," Jokić responded, "saying the hard things. Saying the truth. Maybe some criticism can motivate some players, some people. Even for me, someone needs to criticize me, and maybe that's going to motivate me."

While he may see that as the next step, it's hard to argue with the results.

Jokić's resume features a championship, NBA Finals MVP, three league MVPs, seven All-NBA selections and eight All-Star nods. He has once again been excellent during the 2025-26 campaign and is averaging 28.1 points, 12.6 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 57.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from deep.

The rebounding and assist averages are leading the league, further underscoring his versatility from the center position that allows the Nuggets to run a unique offense and remain among the Western Conference's top contenders.

Denver is in fifth place in the West at 43-28 but just three games behind the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers and 0.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets.

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Still, consistency has been something of an issue of late with a 14-15 record in the last 29 games. The Nuggets have dealt with injuries at times throughout the season, including to Jokić and Aaron Gordon, which has prevented them from keeping pace with some of the teams ahead of them in the standings.

Yet they will be a threat to the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder and any other team in the league come playoff time in large part because of Jokić's presence and ability to control a game in a number of ways.

Even if he doesn't think he is the "bad guy" he needs to be at times.