May 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon (32) controls the ball as center Nikola Jokic (15) screens against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the second quarter during game six of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Nuggets' Aaron Gordon Says Nikola Jokic Is Overlooked in One Area

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Nov 6, 2025 2:00 PM ET

While every NBA fan is well aware of what Nikola Jokic brings on the offensive side of the ball and the impact he provides for the Denver Nuggets on a nightly basis, there's one aspect of his game that Aaron Gordon thinks goes a bit underappreciated.

Instead of his offensive ability, it's what he brings on defense.

"Jok' doesn't get the credit he deserves on defense," Gordon said after the Nuggets' win vs. Miami. "He's always top two, top three in steals and deflections. He's great with his hands on defense, and people don't give him enough credit."

"He's doing more this year on the defensive side, and he's just so smart. So, he understands the game, and the better we understand our defensive schemes as a group, the better he's going to look."

Jokic is bound to get a ton of the credit for Denver's offensive successes, but defensively, Gordon's seen notable improvements from his MVP big man–– especially when it comes to his ability to get deflections and steals on the ball.

Gordon Says Jokic's Defense Doesn't Get Enough Credit

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Through seven games this season, Jokic has averaged an impressive career-high in steals with 2.3 a game, even more than his career-high posted from last season at 1.8, shining through in his past two performances against the Miami Heat and the Sacramento Kings, logging seven steals in 73 combined minutes.

Jokic is always known to stuff the stat sheet, but in the process of his typical triple-double stat line, he's also remained pretty consistent when it comes to taking the ball away. He has a career average of 1.3 steals per night, and for the Nuggets, has been their team leader in steals for the past two seasons.

Just as Jokic carries the load for Denver offensively, on the other end of the floor, he tends to carry a large chunk of responsibilities on that as well. But as Gordon points out, it's certainly not as widely discussed as what he does on the other end.

If the Nuggets are able to get that two-way effort from their big man throughout an entire season's sample size along with the rest of their quality defenders, this team should have an extremely high ceiling for the road ahead.