Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić are set to face off for the first time in over a year as the Spurs welcome the Nuggets.
The Denver Nuggets (40-26, 5th in Western Conference) begin a two-game road trip versus the San Antonio Spurs (48-17, 2nd in West) on Thursday night at Frost Bank Center (9 ET).
Here are three storylines to watch for tonight:
1. Brilliance of Nikola Jokić: ‘The Joker’ is coming off a 16-point, 12-rebound, 13-assist triple-double in Denver’s 129-93 win over Houston on Wednesday night. It was his second straight triple-double and his NBA-leading 25th of the 2025-26 season, giving him 14 more than Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson in second. Following Jokić’s return from a left knee injury that forced him to miss 16 games between Dec. 30 and Jan. 29, the three-time MVP has started to heat up and look more like himself over his last 10 outings. Across seven appearances before the All-Star break, he averaged 24.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.9 blocks on 50.9 / 33.3 / 79.4 shooting splits in 33.1 minutes. Since Feb. 20, Jokić is averaging 29.1 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 9.7 apg, 1.7 spg and 0.9 bpg on 53.9 / 33.3 / 82.5 splits in 35.6 mpg while amassing five triple-doubles. With the Nuggets getting close to full health (only Peyton Watson will miss tonight’s game), Jokić should continue to post jaw-dropping numbers while they prepare for the postseason.
2. Spurs have been unstoppable: Since the beginning of February, San Antonio is an NBA-best 16-1, with wins over the West-leading Thunder, East-leading Pistons (twice), Boston (No. 2 in East), Houston (No. 3 in West) and an unreal 25-point rally to take down the LA Clippers last Friday. Over this span, the Spurs are first in scoring (123.5 ppg), field goal percentage (50.4), assists (31.0), blocks (7.0), plus-minus (+13.4), first in offensive rating (121.2), net rating (13.8), assist ratio (21.1), player impact estimate (56.6), effective field goal (58.6), true shooting percentage (61.3) and they’re second in defensive rating (107.4). San Antonio has shown their two-way dominance over the last six weeks, and it looks to improve to 2-0 on the campaign against Denver while going for a 10th consecutive victory at home.
3. Victor Wembanyama doing it all: We’ve talked about the Spurs’ mastery recently, so let’s focus on one of the key players behind their breakout season. Wembanyama, who is listed as questionable for this contest due to right ankle soreness, continues to evolve into a superstar that seemingly has no ceiling at the age of 22. In six games since March 1, Wemby is averaging 28.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 spg and 4.2 bpg on 54.0 / 42.6 / 81.6 splits in 30.9 mpg with a +14.7 plus-minus rating. He’s scored 30-plus points in two of those outings, including 39 points (11-20 FG), 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal with a career-high eight made 3-pointers during Tuesday’s 125-116 win against the Celtics. It feels like every time he steps on the court, Wembanyama does something we’ve never seen before, and Thursday is another chance to witness his greatness.
