In This Story
Denver Nuggets
Sep 10, 2025 1:10 PM EDT
After being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season last year, the Denver Nuggets felt as though it was time to make some changes to their roster around their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon this offseason.
Denver began the offseason by trading Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson.
Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2)
By making this trade, the Nuggets were able to add a 3-point sharpshooter to their roster while also freeing up cap space to make other additions to bolster their depth.
In free agency, the Nuggets signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown and they also acquired Jonas Valanciunas from the Sacramento Kings.
With these moves, Denver has been labeled by many around the NBA as the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the new season with Jokic leading the way.
NBA Announces New Rule Change
Jokic got more good news on Wednesday as the NBA announced a major rule change that many players have been pushing for.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) — Source: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the NBA will implement a new change for the 2025-26 season where unsuccessful end-of-period heaves will now be recorded as a missed field goal attempt for the team, not the player.
Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now.
View directly on 𝕏
This is a massive rule change by the NBA as these heaves will no longer impact players’ three-point percentages, which has caused for many around the league to not even attempt them, but that is likely to change this season.
Why This Change Will Benefit Nikola Jokic
For Jokic, this rule may benefit him more than most as he has always been willing to chuck up shots at the end of quarters despite it hurting his three-point percentage.
Nikola Jokic
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) — Source: © Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
According to ProphetX Hoops on X, Jokic was 2-of-22 on heaves last season as he finished the season shooting 41.7% from three.
With this change, the star center’s percentage would have increased to 44.4%, which would have been the third best in the NBA behind Zach LaVine (44.6%) and Seth Curry (45.6%).
Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now.
View directly on 𝕏
Of course, this would have been just another statistical category that Jokic would have ranked in the top five of as he also ranked in the top five in points, rebounds, assists, steals, double-doubles and triple-doubles.
While this change will benefit the 30-year-old center, it is likely that even if the NBA did not change this rule, Jokic would still attempt these shots this season as he is one of the few players in the league that consistently did it every season.
About the author
Trending News Writer, Athlon Sports
Nathaniel Holloway is a sports writer specializing in the NBA, NFL and MLB at Athlon Sports. He specializes in trending news stories, breaking news, trade rumors and more.