Bill Simmons in disbelief A screengrab of The Ringer’s Bill Simmons in disbelief.
NBAThe RingerBy Ben Axelrod on

Bill Simmons can’t believe there were people doubting the Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

To quote a hot dog suit-wearing Tim Robinson, “we’re all trying to find the guy who did this.”

On Wednesday’s episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the Sports Guy made note of the criticism the three-time MVP had received after the Nuggets lost the first two games of their matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference Semifinals.

“Some people were slow to come around. Some people were begrudgingly admitting how good he was,” Simmons said of Jokic. “But then as soon as the Minnesota series turned… it was like, ‘See! Told ya. Well who’d he beat last year? Well go look at the playoff teams they beat, they didn’t beat anybody. Congrats, you won one title. A lot of people have one title.’ We heard all the stuff.”

Yes, we certainly did. Including from Simmons, himself.

“Now, if they got swept, they move into, ‘Yeah, they won that title — but.’ And you’re in that group,” Simmons said on his podcast last week after Denver first fell down 0-2 to the Timberwolves. “You know who else is in that group? The ’22 Warriors. Sorry. You’re in it. You lucked out with some of the teams you played. The ’21 Bucks. Yeah, you’re in there too. The 2020 Lakers — bubble. The 2019 Raptors — yeah, KD and Klay Thompson got hurt in the same series.”

(It sure sounds like perhaps every NBA champion has a list of unique circumstances they have faced en route to winning their title. But that’s beside the point.)


Simmons’ initial comment regarding the Nuggets’ legacy was clearly a hypothetical, but it’s worth noting that he predicted that Minnesota would, in fact, sweep Denver during the very same podcast. That’s right, the author of the literal Book of Basketball was ready to completely write off the defending NBA champion with a reigning MVP in his prime based on just two games in a best-of-seven series.

“I think Minnesota’s gonna sweep Denver,” Simmons said. “I’ve been through these a few times as a fan and I think this one’s done and basketball’s about to change as we know it.”

https://twitter.com/rBillSimmonsPod/status/1789828160449618352

In Simmons’ meager defense — which he’s since been quick to share — he apparently thought Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was more injured than he actual was and also seemed to assume Murray would be suspended for Game 3 after throwing his heating pad on the court in Game 2. Still, considering The Ringer founder’s constant praise of Jokic and eagerness to proclaim Denver a potential all-time team after winning last season’s title, one would think that he would have given them more leeway than an 0-2 series start before dancing on their grave.

But while Simmons’ writing off of the Nuggets was curious in real-time, it’s only been made more amusing by his criticism of those who dared to doubt Denver more than a week later. It’s been especially funny to hear two of his most recent podcast guests, Ryen Russillo and Justin Termine, mock those who were ready to award the series to Minnesota after just two games and then backtrack to clarify they, for some reason, weren’t including Simmons in that criticism.

There’s nothing wrong with changing your opinion with more information and when you talk sports as often as Simmons does, you’re bound to have some bad takes. But this isn’t just overreacting to a small sample size — it’s that, plus backtracking to explain why your overreaction was more justified than anyone else’s.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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