Nikola Jokić says Nuggets fans who booed during comeback win over Pelicans are 'not welcome anymore'

Denver's home fans shared their displeasure as the Nuggets fell behind by more than 20 points to the Pelicans

Oct 25, 2026 at 12:54 pm ET • 2 min read

An NBA season hasn't truly begun until the Denver Nuggets have played with their food for three-and-a-half quarters, fallen behind by double digits, and then furiously rallied back for a comeback against an inferior opponent. It is among the most common game-style archetypes in the NBA, a quirk of Denver's that has lasted more or less Nikola Jokić's entire career. You'd think by now that the fans in Denver would understand that after watching it for more than a decade.

Alas, Nuggets fans shared quite a bit of displeasure with the team when they fell behind by more than 20 in the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. They rained boos down on their team, which was already winless after a tough loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener in which they were held to their fewest points in a regular-season game (84) since January 2024.

Thereafter, the Nuggets did what they've so often done during the Jokić era. The Pelicans led by as many as 23, and were even up 16 with 7:24 remaining, but the Nuggets stormed back. They managed to force overtime by holding the Pelicans without a field goal attempt in the last 80 seconds of the game, and once they got to the extra period, they didn't look back in outscoring New Orleans 15-9 to seal the 141-135 victory. The same fans who booed in the first half serenaded rookie Trevon Brazile with MVP chants in overtime.

Yet Jokić, Denver's actual three-time MVP, couldn't quite get over the wishy-washy behavior of his home fans. 

"We got booed at our first home game, and I think those fans who booed us, they don't need to come anymore," Jokić said. "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."

Booing is a part of the game, and frankly, the Nuggets are coming off a stretch in which they've certainly made fans antsy enough to do so. Denver lost its first-round playoff series last spring despite facing a Timberwolves team riddled with injuries. The Nuggets then signed and traded breakout forward Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in what was largely a financial decision. There was fear coming into the season that Denver's championship window around Jokić had truly closed, and a first-half beatdown at the hands of the lowly Pelicans seemingly confirmed that. Fans had more to boo than usual in Denver.

Jokić did what he so often does and won anyway. As long as he's on the team, Denver will usually have a chance to do so. But fans might want to be cautious about invoking Jokić's ire this season. After all, he can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. And while he's made it clear on several occasions that he intends to re-sign, his word isn't binding. 

The last thing Denver fans want is to boo Jokić out the door, so they might want to give the greatest player in franchise history a bit more benefit of the doubt than they did on Saturday.