Thursday 3 October 2019 11:35, UK
Nikola Jokic is not thinking about winning the Most Valuable Player award as he and the Denver Nuggets continue their preparations for the 2019-20 NBA season.
The center garnered enough votes to finish fourth in 2018-19 MVP voting and earned a spot on the All-NBA first team after leading the Nuggets to the No 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Jokic posted career-high season averages in points (20.1), rebounds (10.8), assists (7.3) and steals (1.4) per game to firmly establish himself among the NBA's elite players.
Another season of improvement would undoubtedly vault Jokic even closer to the front of the MVP race, and the 7ft Serb was asked at Nuggets' media day if he was thinking about the league's showpiece individual award.
Denver Nuggets happy to keep rolling with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray
"No, it's just something that comes about when you're playing good and winning, I think," he said.
"It's not something you chase personally. I just work to get wins, that's the most important thing."
Now preparing for his fifth NBA season, Jokic said Denver's training camp has taken on a different feel.
"I know what it is going to be!" he joked. "My first year, I didn't know what to expect and I was fighting for my role in the second year. This year I know what to expect and what we are going to do. I know the guys, I know the coaches.
"It's kind of… I'm relaxed and not under stress. I'm just going to play and try to be better and help the guys get better."
Jokic has also taken the time to watch the early progress of his young Nuggets team-mates, including Michael Porter Jr, the Nuggets' 2018 first-round draft pick who did not play a game in his rookie season due of a back injury.
"Michael is really talented and he has finally got to play and finally show his skill," Jokic said. "There's Bol Bol and Jerami Grant, Vlatko (Cancar) is a new guy. I'm going to try and play the best I can with them. I know what to expect with Jerami because I've played against him [when he was with Oklahoma City]. With the younger guys, we're going to figure it out."
Jokic's on-court chemistry with point guard Jamal Murray was a feature of the Nuggets' run to the Western Conference semi-finals last season.
Although that relationship will be key to the Nuggets' hopes in the upcoming campaign, Jokic noted that working well together is something that runs through the entire Denver roster.
"Because [Jamal] has the ball so much and the team plays through me, I think that's something that comes [naturally] within the game. We have a good team chemistry," Jokic said.
"[Jamal] and me have a good two-man chemistry. I have it with Gary (Harris) too and maybe with a couple of other guys too. But Jamal and I play the most and the ball is in our hands the most. That's why the fans and the media talk about it. But I have good chemistry with everybody."
