Fat Lever's Number Still Explains Why Jokic Passes First
The clearest name in the rafters before Jokic belonged to a passer, not a scorer, and that lineage still shapes how Denver wins.
Denver retired Fat Lever's number in 2017, the one name hanging before Jokic's era, and the connective-passing style he represented traces back to Doug Moe's motion offense. The Nuggets now build around a different kind of hub, but ball movement remains the organizing principle, even as the roster around Jokic keeps turning over.
Why Fat Lever's number still hangs alone
Fat Lever's number was retired on December 2, 2017, during a 115-100 win over the Lakers — the clearest name hanging in the rafters from the franchise's history before Jokic. Lever arrived when Denver traded Kiki Vandeweghe away for him, Calvin Natt, and Wayne Cooper, and he became the connective piece Doug Moe's system needed: a guard who read the whole court before looking for his own shot. That is the job description Jokic inherited, just from center instead of the backcourt.
The passing survived; the position changed
Denver's 2023 championship, beating the Heat for the franchise's first title, came after the Nuggets wiped out an 0-7 playoff record against the Lakers with a sweep in that year's Western Conference finals. Murray's shooting gave Jokic's reads somewhere to land. The pairing is what makes this Nuggets era different from Moe's: an offense built around one passer who starts possessions from the post, not the perimeter.
What keeps that era's length in question
On September 28, Jokic told reporter Bennett Durando he intends to sign an extension — "I'm going to sign next year" — without offering terms. Denver's payroll already sits at $221.1 million, above the first apron, with Jokic's $59.0 million salary the largest number on the books. Any new deal has to fit a tax structure the roster is already pressing against, which is its own version of asking how long this passing era runs.
Tonight's names still answer to that history
Denver's 117-106 win over the Jazz on October 6 ran through the same connections that made last season's offense rank first in the NBA: Murray, Gordon, DeRozan, all working through Jokic. Gordon's health status has gone unresolved since September 13, a gap that matters because this offense needs him inside it, not next to it. The names around Jokic keep turning over. The job Lever once had does not.
Why did the Nuggets retire Fat Lever's number?
Denver retired Fat Lever's number on December 2, 2017, during a win over the Lakers, honoring the guard who ran Doug Moe's motion offense after arriving in the trade that sent Kiki Vandeweghe away.
Has Nikola Jokic signed a contract extension?
Not yet. On September 28, Jokic told reporter Bennett Durando he intends to sign one next year, but no terms have been reported.
