Unable to defend their NBA title, Nuggets duo Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic ready to lead new quest

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Unable to defend their NBA title, Nuggets duo Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic ready to lead new quest

2024-09-27 06:05 Last Updated At：06:12

DENVER (AP) — A couple of things gleaned from Thursday's media day for the Denver Nuggets: Nikola Jokic can grow a first-rate beard/goatee, Jamal Murray has aspirations to be an MMA fighter and Aaron Gordon held one impressive yard sale this summer as he cleaned out his closet.

Oh, and that not defending their crown sat well with absolutely no one. They're eager to scale that NBA mountaintop again only with a different look. Gone are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson. Brought in are Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric.

Of course, there are the mainstays in Jokic, now a three-time NBA MVP, and Murray, who's fresh off signing a 4-year, $208M max contract extension. The Nuggets are coming off a season in which they tied the franchise's NBA record for wins (57) only to be eliminated in the second-round of the playoffs to Minnesota. Denver squandered a 20-point second-half lead in Game 7 at home.

“After a season where everybody says we failed, it’s my job to make sure that we don’t believe all that (expletive),” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who guided the team to their first NBA championship in 2022-23. “We’re a good team. The last six years, no one in the West has come close to doing what we’ve done. Remind yourself of that, but also challenge yourself to not be satisfied. Push yourself and push your teammate to become even better."

Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth estimated that Jokic has a 10-year prime contention window and they're about halfway through it.

“You hit one of them it's great,” Booth said. “It's going to be incredibly hard to win another one.”

On the docket for Booth, negotiating a contract extension with Gordon, which he can do starting Friday. Gordon is coming off a season in which he averaged 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in his do-a-little-bit-of-everything role.

“I really love this organization,” Gordon said. “I hope we get it done.”

Gordon switched his jersey to No. 32 this season to honor his brother, Drew, who died four months ago in car crash in Oregon. Aaron Gordon said his teammates helped him through it.

“These guys have been there for me every step of the way,” Gordon said. “These guys have really developed into people that I would call my brothers.”

Gordon has long been a fan favorite. That was evident when he opened up his wardrobe to fans this summer. His pop-up event was well received.

“Just a yard sale,” he cracked. “It just happened to get a little out of hand. It's a great community. They've accepted me and I'm just grateful for it."

On Thursday, Murray wasn't exactly in an expansive mood during his time at the podium, but he did reveal his affection for mixed martial arts. He worked out with former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

“I might have a career there after this,” said Murray, who struggled for Team Canada over the summer at the Paris Games. “But I’m doing this right now.”

Murray forms quite an on-court partnership with Jokic, who showed up with a beard/goatee he's already contemplating nixing. Jokic enters training camp on the high of helping Serbia to an Olympic bronze medal in Paris. He has already picked up his first assist of the year, too, by playing a role in bringing Westbrook to town.

“Great, great player for us," said Jokic, who earned his third NBA MVP award in four seasons after a regular season averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists. "He's going to bring us all the good stuff.”

Westbrook joined the Nuggets in an effort to capture the one thing missing from his distinguished resume — a title.

“As long as we as a team put our best foot forward, we can live with the results," Westbrook said. "If it's a championship, I'm grateful for that. If it's not, I'm also grateful for the opportunity.”

Westbrook was in a jovial mood Thursday, playfully mimicking Murray’s signature “Blue Arrow” pose as Murray took pictures. It brought a grin to Murray.

That's just Westbrook's personality.

“People confuse intensity with competitiveness,” Westbrook said. “When I’m on the floor, I don’t want to be walking around, shaking hands, kissing babies. I'm there to kick some (butt). Of the floor, I'm chill."

Notes: Altitude announced a deal to offer Nuggets and Avalanche games through a streaming app along with a handful of games on local broadcasts. Altitude TV has been in a long-running dispute with Comcast, the state’s largest cable provider, which has not carried Altitude since their previous deal expired in 2019. ... The contenders to join Murray, Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. and Gordon in the starting lineup appear to be Christian Braun and Julian Strawther. ... Porter, who's had back issues in the past, took advantage of a healthy offseason by getting in even more work on the court.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

BTS returns with comeback concert in Seoul after four-year hiatus

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — After a four-year break, K-pop supergroup BTS returns Saturday with a massive, free comeback concert in Seoul, where thousands of police are locking down a central boulevard for the Netflix-exclusive spectacle expected to draw tens of thousands of fans.

The performance at Gwanghwamun Square launches a monthslong global tour spanning dozens of shows across the United States, Europe and Asia.

All seven members of the band — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — recently completed South Korea’s mandatory military service, and hope to reclaim their status as one of the world's biggest pop acts.

The hourlong concert comes a day after the group released its fifth album, “ARIRANG,” which had already logged several million preorder sales since January.

The band’s management company, HYBE, said RM injured his ankle during a rehearsal Thursday but was expected to perform with some limitations.

Officials expect the BTS concert to draw more than 200,000 people to the Gwanghwamun area, including 22,000 fans who secured free seats in the designated viewing zone and others planning to watch on screens nearby. It will be streamed live on Netflix.

“It will be amazing because it’s been so long that BTS (was) not with us,” said Dallila Di Tullio, a 32-year old fan from Italy, who called the concert a once-in-a-century event. Marta Corona, a 25-year-old Polish fan, said she would be seeing BTS in person for the first time since a 2019 performance in London. “It’s been a while — I’m very excited,” she said.

BTS debuted in 2013 and has a legion of global supporters who call themselves the “Army.” It became the first K-pop act to top Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 2020 with their first all-English song “Dynamite.”

Jung Dukhyun, a pop culture commentator, said that the impact of the BTS returning as a full-group after years of pause would be tremendous at a time when global fandom for K-pop has grown much stronger, as shown by the success of Netflix’s animated sensation, “KPop Demon Hunters.”

Police and city officials are imposing stringent crowd-control measures, closing nearby streets, roads and museums, halting the area’s subway and bus services, and sealing off dozens of surrounding buildings, in what amounts to a full-day shutdown of the district.

Cars will be barred from the main road between Gwanghwamun and Seoul City Hall for more than 30 hours through Sunday morning. The government has stepped up anti-terror monitoring, citing global tensions and large crowds of international fans, while police deployed surveillance vehicles and jamming equipment to block unauthorized drones. The restrictions have forced nearby shops to close and deliveries to pause.

While South Korean officials have taken crowd safety more seriously since a deadly 2022 Halloween surge that killed nearly 160 people, critics say the controls are excessive and undercut the symbolism of performing in Gwanghwamun, seen as Seoul’s spiritual heart and most prominent gathering space.

Hundreds of thousands have gathered in Gwanghwamun in recent years to mourn, protest and celebrate as the country weathered tragedy and political upheaval. The BTS concert comes about a year after waves of demonstrators filled the area, calling for the ouster of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. Those monthslong rallies were marked by a festive atmosphere and a striking blend of politics and pop culture, with protesters singing and waving colorful K-pop light sticks, and ended without major safety accidents.

The new BTS album, “ARIRANG,” draws on a centuries-old folk song regarded as an unofficial anthem in both North and South Korea while Gwanghwamun and nearby Gyeongbok Palace form a sweeping historic backdrop to Saturday’s show.

South Korean officials are counting on the event to promote the country’s culture and growing soft power. In a statement Wednesday, President Lee Jae Myung said the BTS performance would provide “a special moment that people around the world will remember for long.”

“While one pillar of the album is defined by BTS’ identity, the other is shaped by the emotions they feel in the present, specifically universal sentiments such as joy, pleasure, and profound love,” HYBE said in response to questions from The Associated Press.

The 14-track record, with lead single “SWIM,” was recorded in Los Angeles as the group reconvened after years apart.

The group's comeback follows a nearly four-year hiatus driven by South Korea’s mandatory military service, which requires most able-bodied men to serve 18 to 21 months under a conscription system aimed at deterring aggression from North Korea. BTS members began serving in 2022, with Suga the last to complete his service in June 2025.

Despite their yearslong break, experts say BTS’s outlook remains strong, backed by its massive fandom and the continuous global rise of K-pop. South Korea’s SK Securities said Wednesday the group’s “ARIRANG” world tour is likely to become the biggest K-pop tour ever by scale and revenue, with 82 shows planned globally in stadiums of around 50,000 seats.

“They had a fairly long hiatus but still have a historically powerful fandom. As they come back, they’ll likely immediately enjoy a warm welcome and intense fever around the world,” said Ha Jae-keun, a cultural critic. “I think they’ll likely have a second heyday.”

__ AP video journalists Yong Jun Chang and Yong-ho Kim contributed.