It’s Jaden McDaniels versus everybody. After calling out the Denver Nuggets team as bad defenders, the 25-year-old has not stopped talking back on the court. His controversial last-second layup decision in Game 4 sparked a brawl that resulted in two ejections and a cumulative $85,000 fine between Jokic and Randle. Despite the Timberwolves losing key rotation players Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards for the remainder of the first-round series, McDaniels’ competitive fire never dimmed, consistently irritating Nikola Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets roster.

“I mean McDaniels, he just has to stop picking on these big guys.” This led to a double technical foul for Ayo Dosunmu and Jonas Valanciunas. McDaniels continued jawing at his Nuggets rival and gave a hard time to every Denver star. That’s why the Ball Arena erupted and broke out a “McDaniels sucks” chant. There are more incidents from Game 5 as the Wolves star troubled his opponents, be it Nikola Jokic, Valanciunas, and even Christian Braun.

With 8:50 left in the third frame, Jamal Murray set an illegal screen, and an offensive foul call was made. But that time, Nikola Jokic was already set in motion to rattle the basket, but only to be thwarted by McDaniels once again. He did block the attempt, but his trailing arm caught the Joker, who was not backing down after last game’s skirmish. As he charged towards the 25-year-old Wolves star, Mike Conley and the official stepped in between and made sure there was no escalation this time.

The referee worked to calm down the three-time MVP as he stared down McDaniels, who stood near the baseline. Beyond securing the 12-point win, the Nuggets also delivered some payback later in the same quarter. With 1:35 left, Christian Braun powered through for a double-handed slam, rejecting McDaniels’ contest and igniting the home crowd. Braun then pointed directly at McDaniels and received a technical foul- one of the few moments where the Wolves defender didn’t come out on top.

This isn’t the first time McDaniels has found himself in the middle of heated exchanges; his fiery approach echoes past playoff confrontations where young wings tested established stars, much like when Draymond Green repeatedly targeted big men during the Warriors’ dynasty runs.

Leaked audio reveals Nikola Jokic and Jaden McDaniels’ heated confrontation

The heat in the rivalry began after the Timberwolves’ Game 2 win. McDaniels called out all the Nuggets stars and their limited defensive abilities.

“Go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders,” said McDaniels, who had 14 points and three assists. “Tim Hardaway (Jr.), Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them.”

Interestingly, it was veteran point guard Mike Conley — the same player who had passed the ball to McDaniels after those Game 2 comments — who found himself at the center of the Game 4 controversy again.

With the game well in hand and just 1.3 seconds left, Conley threw an outlet pass to McDaniels instead of simply dribbling out the clock. After the ensuing layup and scuffle with Jokic, the veteran took full responsibility in his postgame comments.

“Nah, that was a slip-up. That’s all on me. I take the blame,” Conley said with a laugh. “I apologize to the Denver Nuggets. I apologize to myself, to my team, everybody. As soon as I threw it, I looked and I was like, ‘Ah, it’s Jaden.’ I almost put my hands on my head and I was like, ‘Maybe he won’t.’ And then as soon as I saw him when the ball kind of bounced a couple times, ‘It’s over, man.’ You can even see me lower my head.”

As the steady veteran presence on a young and emotional roster, Conley’s lighthearted accountability highlighted the fine line between competitive fire and unnecessary escalation in the playoffs.

Jokic’s reaction carries extra edge given his own history of playoff flare-ups. In the 2021 Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns, the then-MVP was ejected in Game 4 after a frustrated wind-up swipe at Cameron Payne’s face resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul, sparking a brief scuffle and double technical with Devin Booker as the Nuggets fell in a sweep.

The situation boiled over in Game 4. It angered Nikola Jokic, and he sprinted down to confront Jaden. After a light shove from the Joker, McDaniels held his jersey. Then the leaked footage revealed their alleged statements.

Jokic stated, “Why did you do that?” McDaniels was unfazed by the contact and answered, “You a b*tch, it’s the playoffs!”

By that time, teammates, coaches, and the referees came in between to stop the brawl. That game was very emotional for both teams. The Wolves lost two starters to injury, and the Nuggets were down 1-3 in the series. Making the home court advantage count, Denver won Game 5 and will hope to continue the momentum.