Why Nikola Jokic's stock went up even in defeat

Much like the Timberwolves, the Grizzlies were no match for the Thunder in the first round. Mark Daigneault's men needed someone to prepare them for a championship run, which the Nuggets did.

The 2023 NBA champions gave the Thunder the trial by fire they needed to elevate to a new level. Five of the seven games were separated by five or fewer points in the clutch, the sort of close contests that tested the resolve and grit of the young Thunder squad. 

That's precisely why Daigneault essentially thanked the Nuggets for making them "a better team" by the end of the hard-fought series.

"We're better now than we were at the beginning of this series and it's because of them," he said. "They pushed us to the limit. They tested our resolve. We’re going to need that resolve going forward."

It was very kind of Daigneault to praise all of the Nuggets, but he should have thanked Jokic most of all. The Serb faced two 7-footers in Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, yet the Thunder still needed to triple- and quadruple-team him every time he touched the ball. 

By the end of the series, the Thunder graduated into an even more elite defensive unit thanks to Jokic's greatness. Period.