The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves are quickly building one of the NBA’s best rivalries. There’s so much shared DNA between the two franchises, starting with lead executive Tim Connelly jumping to Denver to Minnesota after laying the foundation for the Nuggets’ 2023 championship team. The Wolves ruined the Nuggets’ bid for back-to-back titles last year by knocking them out of the second round of the playoffs in stunning fashion.
If the first meeting between the two teams in the 2024-25 season is any indication, this Western Conference rivalry is only going to get better and better.
The Wolves beat the Nuggets, 119-116, on Friday night at the Target Center. The fourth quarter was a captivating back-and-forth affair highlighted by Christian Braun’s vicious poster dunk on Rudy Gobert, and Anthony Edwards’ clutch shot-making stealing the show. While Minnesota again took this round, Wolves players were still marveling at Nuggets star Nikola Jokic after the game.
Anthony Edwards interrupted Rudy Gobert’s post-game interview in the locker room to talk about Jokic somehow diagnosing what play the Wolves were running coming out of a timeout in the fourth quarter. Edwards and Gobert were in disbelief talking about how Jokic knew what was coming even though the players did nothing to indicate the set.
“We have a spy on the bench,” Gobert said in jest. Watch the locker room discussion here, then watch the play:
Anthony Edwards came over to talk to Rudy Gobert while we were interviewing him postgame.
Ant wanted to talk about how Nikola Jokic knew the exact play they were going to run coming out of the timeout at the end of the game.
Rudy said Jokic must have a spy: “He knew the play… pic.twitter.com/lGmAacKdhG
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 2, 2024
Anthony Edwards & Rudy Gobert couldn’t believe that Nikola Jokic knew their play during the game. They joked around saying theirs a spy pic.twitter.com/vh06An53AC
— SneakerReporter (@SneakerReporter) November 2, 2024
The play happened with six minutes left in the fourth with Denver holding a four-point lead. Coming out of the timeout, cameras showed Jokic calling out Minnesota’s play. You can see Edwards and Gobert in the video exchange a quick glance at each other to express their bewilderment that Jokic knew exactly what they were running.
Watch the play here. Jokic was all over the entry pass on Gobert’s roll to the rim, and teammate Aaron Gordon broke it up for a key turnover.
I believe this is the play Ant and Rudy are referencing…
(I know they said with three minutes left — but this is the play after the last timeout the Wolves called.) pic.twitter.com/CKnjemAqBH
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 2, 2024
After the game, Edwards called Jokic the best player in the world in his ESPN interview. Moments like this show what makes the three-time MVP so special even beyond his incredible box score production every night.
Edwards has absolutely no filter in interviews. Here’s another funny moment from the locker room (warning: foul language ahead):
The Nuggets have started off slow, but their starting lineup is still very good, mostly because of Jokic and Aaron Gordon. We need another Minnesota/Denver series in this year’s playoffs, thank you very much.
