Nikola Jokic expresses a desire to retire as a Nugget, as for Bones Hyland, maturity may be the key to succes

A healthy Jamal Murray all smiles at Nuggets media day.

It’s going to take a little while for Nikola Jokic to accomplish one of his coach’s challenges for the upcoming season.

In addition to improved defense and a more efficient 3-point shot, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he wanted to see his back-to-back Most Valuable Player take a step forward as a vocal leader.

The only issue is Jokic spent most of the offseason speaking the native tongue in Serbia while spending time with his family and representing his country in EuroBasket 2022.

“I think I need a little bit of time to get back to speaking English,” Jokic said Monday at media day. “Then, maybe I can be a little bit more help.”

There shouldn’t be any shortage of time. Jokic recently signed the richest contract in NBA history, a deal that will keep him in Denver through at least the 2026-27 season.

He said it was a goal to retire with the Nuggets.

“I want to be the Tim Duncan of the Denver Nuggets,” Jokic said. “But I need to win a couple championships.”

When the Nuggets star does speak up, it carries weight. Aaron Gordon said Jokic is more vocal than outsiders might expect, and his suggestions produce results.

“He talks to us pretty much every timeout just to kind of make sure we’re all on the same page,” Gordon said.

“He’s one of the smartest basketball players in the world, so we listen, and it works.”

After a couple of seasons playing alongside Jokic, Vlatko Cancar teamed up with Luka Doncic for Slovenia at the European championships this summer. He admitted Doncic’s more vocal of the two stars.

“Joker is more calm,” Cancar said. “He will not yell as much, but whenever he does, everybody kind of looks at him like ‘Woah.’”

When Jokic keeps to himself, Malone feels like the team takes a hit. With eight new faces in Nuggets uniforms, vocal leadership becomes more important as the Nuggets chase their championship aspirations.

“Everybody is just waiting for him to say something, and when he does, it has a profound impact. He’s not one of those guys that’s saying something all the time that you tune out. When he says something, it’s important,” Malone said. “I want him to be more vocal in the huddles. I want him to be more vocal in the locker room. I don’t want him doing my job, but I want our players taking more ownership. It’s their team. I think Nikola is ready and poised to do that.”

Jokic got off to a good start Monday. During his media availability, Jokic used the word “gadgets” to describe the different things Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and DeAndre Jordan can bring to the team. That got a rise out of Jamal Murray.

“I like that Jok!” Murray said, hyping up his teammate’s English.