Three MVP titles and a championship, yet Nikola Jokic’s status as one of the league’s greats has come into question. But a subpar shooting performance and the Denver Nuggets trailing in the first-round series have planted doubt among fans and analysts. After Paul Pierce and Bill Simmons, former Lakers star Nick Young also chimed in on the raging debate.

“Antman’s injury saved Denver and Joker’s legacy,” said Young on the recent episode of Gil’s Arena. “Him (Edwards) being hurt, you see how happy they (Nuggets) playing out there, he hasn’t had no triple doubles until last game. That’s the front runner in Denver, their front runners, you can tell the energy has changed playing with more confidence now, when the big bad wolf is down you ain’t got deal with. And you ain’t got to deal with him, I feel like. If Ant-Man was there, I think the season would be over with, but the energy was off, Joker fighting at the end of the game. They look like they damn near gave up.”

Young, who had earlier called Edwards the league’s “most complete player” for his nonstop motor and two-way fire, wasn’t mincing words. Take Anthony Edwards, the explosive Timberwolves superstar and alpha dog, off the floor, and Minnesota’s championship-caliber offense loses its engine. That’s exactly what happened in Game 4.

Here’s the clear sequence: Late in the second quarter of Game 4 in Minneapolis, Edwards hyperextended his left knee on a contest, suffering a bone bruise that will sideline him for multiple weeks. Minutes earlier, veteran guard Donte DiVincenzo- a key starter and glue guy acquired to add shooting and toughness to the Wolves’ backcourt- tore his Achilles on a non-contact play, ending his season.

Down two starters, the Wolves didn’t fold. Bench spark Ayo Dosunmu- a gritty guard who joined Minnesota via trade deadline move and has carved out a role as an energetic scorer exploded for a career-high 43 points off the bench, including a sizzling 13-of-17 shooting night. Minnesota still closed out a 112-96 victory to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, outscoring Denver 62-42 in the second half despite the absences.

Nick Young’s take gained traction because the Nuggets suddenly looked looser and more confident in Game 5 at Ball Arena, exactly as he described.

With Edwards hobbled (and now out) and DiVincenzo gone, Jokic bounced back in vintage form Monday night, dropping a triple-double of 27 points, 16 assists, and 12 rebounds on efficient shooting. The Nuggets rolled to a 125-113 win, trimming the series to 3-2 and keeping their title hopes breathing.

It was Jokic’s first triple-double since Game 1, snapping a rough patch where he shot just 23-of-68 in the middle three games, including a brutal 3-of-20 from three and multiple sub-40% outings.

Pressure is on Nikola Jokic to Close Out the Series

Yet the story isn’t that simple. Denver entered the series banged up, too. Forward Peyton Watson has missed the entire series, and Aaron Gordon- their versatile two-way forward and Jokic’s key frontcourt partner, sat out Game 3 entirely and played limited minutes in Game 4- clearly not at 100%. That forced Jokic and Jamal Murray, neither known as lockdown defenders, to grind even harder on that end. The toll showed.

“I actually picked Denver coming out of the whole West, seriously, with the way they finished the season,” Pierce said on the No Fouls Given podcast, “If Denver is to lose this series, as much as we talk about Bron and KD and Steph, like Joker, like something has to be said if we’re saying you’re the best player in the league and you can’t get past the first round without their two best players from Minnesota.”

The late-game dust-up between Jokic and Minnesota’s feisty wing Jaden McDaniels in Game 4 only added fuel to the “composure” debate.

Now the series heads back to Target Center for Game 6, with Denver needing to steal another on the road. Jokic has already tied Russell Westbrook for the most combined regular-season and playoff triple-doubles in NBA history with his 221st.

But legacy talk doesn’t pause for injuries or excuses. If the Joker wants to silence the doubters for good, he’ll have to keep cooking against a resilient Wolves squad that proved—even shorthanded—they can scrap and score with anyone.

The Nuggets’ championship window isn’t closed, but it’s suddenly feeling a lot narrower. One thing’s for sure in this wild first-round thriller: when the “big bad wolf” went down, the energy in Denver shifted overnight. Whether that’s enough to flip the series remains the million-dollar question.