Nuggets broadcaster defends reporter’s question after terse Nikola Jokic exchange

Nikola Jokic wasn’t happy after a loss. A reporter asked about a problem that contributed to it. And a fellow broadcaster defended her right to ask.

That’s enough for a story without turning it into evidence that Jokic wants out of Denver.

The exchange followed the Nuggets’ 110-100 loss to the Rockets, who collected 15 offensive rebounds. Altitude’s Katy Winge asked Jokic how Denver could limit those extra opportunities, drawing a dismissive response, according to Bruno Feliks of Basketball Network⁠.

Winge later explained her approach.

“Sometimes you have to ask the dumb question because you want to hear the player explain how simple something can be,” she wrote. “I took the hit here and I’d do it again.”

Her Altitude colleague Vic Lombardi pushed back on criticism of the question.

“There was nothing wrong with the question,” Lombardi wrote. “I’ve been in this business for 35 years. If you call that a hard question, you are soft.”

To be clear, Lombardi was addressing those criticizing the question. He wasn’t calling Jokic soft.

Lombardi also offered a fairly reasonable explanation for the response.

“Had the Nuggets won the game and she has the same question I guarantee you it doesn’t elicit the same response,” he wrote. “You’ll never hear me say anything bad about Jokic, but his answer was born out of frustration.”

Players get frustrated. Reporters still have to ask about what went wrong. Neither is particularly unusual after a loss, and asking about offensive rebounds is hardly crossing a line.

Jokic collected 16 rebounds himself, so this wasn’t simply a matter of the center failing to do his job. It was still a team issue worth discussing.

The Nuggets fell to 5-4. They have basketball problems to address. A brief postgame exchange doesn’t establish anything about Jokic’s next contract or his desire to remain in Denver.