Nikola Jokić told Denver fans who booed the Nuggets at halftime they do not need to come back, and said they are not welcome anymore after a home comeback win.
The three-time NBA MVP did not soften the message. After Denver clawed out a 141-135 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena, Jokić went straight at the home crowd that turned on his team in the first half.
OutKick reported the Nuggets trailed 75-57 at the break, drew boos in their own building, then stormed back. Jokić finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on a night that started ugly and ended with a clear rebuke.
It was only Denver’s second game of the regular season, and the first home date after an opening loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The fans were already restless. Jokić made plain he had no interest in that kind of support.
The Nuggets shot 48 percent from the floor and just 32 percent from beyond the arc. They turned the ball over 12 times. New Orleans turned those mistakes into 15 points. Down big at home, the building answered with boos.
Denver still won. Jokić still posted a triple-double. And he still drew a hard line with the people who paid to sit in the seats.
Via ESPN, Jokić said:
"We got booed at our first home game, and I think those fans who booed us, they don't need to come anymore."
He did not stop there. He tied the comment to the team’s identity and left little room for walk-back.
Jokić added:
"If you guys follow us, you know that we never quit and we've come back from much worse situations. So, if they ask me, they are not welcome anymore."
That is a franchise cornerstone telling a slice of his own fan base the door works both ways. In a league that sells loyalty as a brand, the star put conditions on the relationship.
Last season the Nuggets finished 54-28 and placed third in the Western Conference. Minnesota then ousted them in the first round in six games. Denver has stacked at least 50 wins in four straight years and owns one title in that stretch of sustained excellence. Opening 0-1, then digging a 18-point halftime hole at home, was not the script those fans wanted.
Photo captions from the night placed the game on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, at Ball Arena. Jamal Murray argued a call with referee Scott Foster in overtime while Jokić looked on. DeAndre Jordan defended him in the first half. Zion Williamson blocked one of his shots after the break. The supporting cast and the officials filled out a messy, high-scoring scrap. The quote was the lasting mark.
Jokić’s point was simple. This group has climbed out of worse deficits. Booing at the first sign of trouble, on the first home night of the year, crossed his line. He said those fans do not need to return. If the choice were his, they are not welcome.
Modern sports crowds pay premium prices and expect instant proof. A defending-caliber core, a recent title, and years of 50-win basketball did not buy Denver a quiet locker-room walk at halftime. The deficit was real. The turnovers were real. So was the response from the stands.
Jokić answered with production and then with a standard. He did not plead for patience. He did not market a bond with every ticket holder. He separated fans who stick through the ugly stretches from fans who boo an 18-point hole two games into the season.
That stance will bother some. It will sound refreshing to others who are tired of athletes absorbing every jeer in silence while cities demand championships on schedule. Either way, the record around him is not empty. The Nuggets have won at a high level for years. The early hole against New Orleans tested a home arena’s nerve, and part of that arena failed the test in Jokić’s view.
No team statement or front-office reply appears in the available game coverage. The night’s final word came from the center who stuffed the box score and then drew the boundary. Denver got the win. The Pelicans went home with a loss in a 141-135 final. The clip of Jokić’s comments will travel farther than the shooting percentages.
Fair-weather noise is easy when the scoreboard tilts the wrong way. Players who actually drag a team back from double-digit messes are entitled to say who they want in the building when the next storm hits.
