There emerged two ways to evaluate the Nuggets’ loss on Saturday: Nikola Jokic’s perspective and the counter-notion that the Lakers just really wanted this one.

Nikola Jokic is playing the best basketball of his life as he enters his 30s. How much longer can he avoid the inevitable decline that all NBA stars encounter eventually?

According to reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, the playmaking talisman of the Denver Nuggets and the best NBA player in the world, well, the league should probably focus on fixing other things about its game before fixating on making the All-Star Game more viable.