The Ringer NBA Show

Episode: NBA New Year’s Resolutions. Plus: Nikola Jokic Injury Update.

Hosts: Logan Murdock & Howard Beck
Date: December 30, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Ringer NBA Show (Real Ones) delivers a robust mix of current NBA news and insightful banter, focusing initially on Nikola Jokic’s knee injury and its enormous implications for the Nuggets and the league. After digesting the immediate and long-term ramifications of Jokic’s absence, Logan and Howard dive into a highly entertaining and impassioned "NBA New Year’s Resolutions" segment: a wish-list for how the league, teams, and stars could improve in 2026 and beyond. The pod wraps with a lively, idea-packed mailbag, featuring fun hypotheticals about historic NBA player transformations and Die Hard character comps.

Key Segments & Insights

Nikola Jokic Injury: What Now for Denver?

[00:12–14:48]

• Jokic’s Injury: Logan introduces the big story: "Jokic injured his left knee… a hyperextension… the Nuggets aren’t being very transparent." (00:31)
  • Nuggets head coach David Adelman stresses the personal disappointment and uncertainty for Jokic and the team.
  • Howard’s reaction is to dissect the ambiguity: hyperextension is not a diagnosis but a descriptor; Nuggets’ ‘reevaluated in four weeks’ is non-specific. “Four weeks is not a return date. It’s just a reevaluation.” (03:30)
  • Referenced expertise: "Jeff Stotts from In Street Clothes: Hyperextension is not a diagnosis. It just describes what happened.” (03:10)
  • NBA teams’ lack of transparency is a recurring frustration for both media and fans.

Denver's Outlook Without Jokic:

• Schedule Outlook: 16 games in four weeks; 10 on the road, but mostly soft opponents. Gordon and Brown expected to return during the stretch, Saric and Jonas Valanciunas trade cited as smart depth, but the challenge is real. (05:52)
  • “You don’t just replace Jokic’s production. He’s the hub.” (06:55)
• Playoff Implications & MVP Race:
  • Jamal Murray has stepped up, averaging 25 and 7 assists, “playing like an All-Star.” (08:05)
  • Jokic’s absence may remove him from MVP eligibility due to the 65-game threshold—an issue Howard is fired up about:

    “I’ve always said, the 65-game rule means we’re going to give MVP to someone just because they played two games more than someone demonstrably better.” (11:30)

  • Injury may derail Jokic’s and Denver’s “revenge/reminder season... This is the deepest team they’ve had since their title run.” (09:36)

Notable Quotes:

• Howard Beck: "Hyperextension, not a diagnosis... You can have a bone bruise, ligament sprain, capsule injury, all fall under that label.” (03:10)
• Logan Murdock: “This is probably going to be the longest absence Jokic has ever had.” (09:36)
• Dr. Brian Sutterer (as relayed by Howard): "[The language] suggests moderate bone bruising needs to heal... Best-case scenario is ligaments are good." (13:50)

Segment: New Year's Resolutions for the NBA

[17:40–54:33]

• Format: Not personal resolutions, but “exercises in what the league, teams, or stars should resolve to do”—part wish list, part constructive criticism, with a loose, humorous tone.

Resolution 1: Scrap (or Reduce) the 65-Game Rule

• Logan’s Take:

  “The 65-game threshold... hasn’t been fruitful for anyone. It hasn’t stopped load management. It just takes money out of players’ pockets and mutes the league’s nuance.” (19:00)

  • Suggests dropping it to 55 or looking for alternatives.
• Howard’s Response:
  • “This 65-game mark was an unofficial media standard already... It’s not really changing behavior. The league needed a hard barrier for players, not for us." (20:14)

Resolution 2: All-Star Game—Pick a Format and Stick to It

• Howard’s Play-by-Play of Changes:
  • Here’s the rundown of recent changes:
    • 2018: Playground draft (private)
    • 2019: Playground draft (live)
    • The Elam ending (target score)
    • 2024: Removed Elam, nixed player draft again
    • 2025: Tournament style, now morphing to "world vs. USA"
  • “Adam Silver… terminally online commissioner… always trying to please everyone, pivoting, pivoting... JUST PICK ONE AND STICK WITH IT!” (24:35)
  • Both agree: Format helps, but player competitiveness matters most.
  • Classic All-Star moments come from organic circumstances, not tweaks: “2001 is revered because KG, Iverson, Kobe, and Shaq decided to play hard.” (31:32)

Resolution 3: Embrace the NBA's Youth Movement

• Logan:
  • “We need to stop pining for yesteryear. The league is in great hands with the likes of Ant Edwards, Wembanyama, OKC’s core... Time to tell their stories and sell their greatness, not just rely on fading stars.” (37:40)
• Howard:
  • NBA does market its young stars, but “we’re always chasing a Jordan narrative. You have to win and exude charisma to be 'the face.'” (41:45)
  • Acknowledges success is about stars wanting and seizing it.

Resolution 4: Happy Endings or Clean Breaks (Giannis/Bucks, Steph/Warriors, etc.)

• Howard on Giannis: “I just want the Bucks and Giannis to find happiness, together or apart. Sometimes you look at each other and say, ‘I still love you, but I’m not in love with you.’” (45:29)
  • The cloud of Giannis’s hints at leaving, lack of supporting cast, his prime years possibly wasted—time for a decision.
• Logan on Steph Curry & Warriors:
  • “You need to treat star legends better on their way out... Curry’s back nine has been fumbled. Chase Center rocks because of one guy—figure out the rest later.” (53:12)
• Howard agrees: Warriors’ two-timeline approach (old stars + youth) was a mistake; they need to maximize Steph’s remaining window, even if it means going all-in at the trade deadline. “Don’t allow yourself to be a play-in or first-round-and-out team if you can possibly help it!” (57:32)

Other Fun Resolutions/Quick Hits

• Chicago Bulls: “Commit to something other than mediocrity.” (58:22)
• Ja, LaMelo, Trae Young: “Trades for everyone — new environments for stalled stars.” (58:54)
• Injuries: “Let’s resolve to turn off the ‘injury’ slider in real life—no more Achilles tears for star players.” (59:34)
• No Expansion, Yes Relocation: “Reject expansion, but relocate a deserving team to Seattle. Seattle never should have lost the Sonics.” (59:38)

Mailbag Highlights

[61:09–76:27]

Topic 1: NBA “Tigers Who Changed Their Stripes”

Players who changed who they were, not just improved.

• Wilt Chamberlain: “Gold standard—went from shooter/rebounder to facilitating in LA, even led league in assists.” (61:49)
• Vince Carter: "Poster child for gracefully becoming a role-player."
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “Transitioned to support role for Magic/Worthy’s Lakers.”
• Bill Walton: “Lost athleticism to injury, became invaluable role-player in Boston.”
• Others: Grant Hill, Andre Iguodala, Chris Bosh (fit-in/final-phase Heat), Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade (Miami's pecking order shift for LeBron), Jason Kidd (added 3pt shot), Amare Stoudemire (developed mid-range after injuries), David Robinson (became supporting big to Duncan).
• Quote:

  “Stars do certain things really great to make them stars… rarely abandon them unless they get old or injured.” — Howard (63:13)

Topic 2: NBA's ‘Die Hard’ Character Analogs

Who is the league’s John McClane? Hans Gruber?

• John McClane: “Jimmy Butler. Fly in the ointment, pain in the ass, perpetually underrated, but tough, clutch, and charismatic.” (72:12)
• Hans Gruber: “Rudy Gobert. Clever, European, a bit too sure of himself; Jokic would also make a great movie villain.” (73:21)
• Ellis: “The self-impressed talker, thinks he’s cleverer than he is: that’s Dillon Brooks.” (74:30)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Howard Beck [re: 65-game rule]: “The best player in the world might miss out on the MVP for missing by a single game. That’s why arbitrary cutoffs are dangerous.” (11:30)
• Logan Murdock [on All-Star Game]: “Fans just want to watch hoop, dog.” (28:13)
• Logan [on NBA’s youth]: “Just invest in the youth. That OKC–San Antonio stretch this season… made me think, ‘Yo, Steph, LeBron, y’all can just watch with us!’” (44:05)
• On Giannis/Bucks: “At some point you gotta figure it out: hang together, or move on—but the clock's ticking.” (50:30)
• On Warriors/Steph: “You want to be the Lakers for a new generation? Then treat your living legend like Kobe, not like just another fade-out.” (53:12)
• On NBA expansion: “Please, just relocate to Seattle. Don’t water it all down further.” (59:38)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:12] Jokic’s injury context and Nuggets’ dilemma
• [03:10] Critique of “hyperextension” injury reporting
• [05:52] Denver’s schedule and potential to stay afloat
• [08:05] Jamal Murray’s All-Star push & MVP implications
• [11:30] Rant on 65-game award eligibility rule
• [17:40] New Year’s Resolutions—format explained
• [19:00] 65-game rule (again), case for scrapping/reducing
• [23:04] All-Star Game: keep one format!
• [31:32] Why All-Star coolness depends on players, not gimmicks
• [37:40] Embracing the youth movement/resisting nostalgia
• [45:29] Giannis/Bucks: time for clarity in the relationship
• [53:12] Treating legends (Steph/Warriors) well in their twilight
• [58:22] Chicago Bulls: resolution to escape mediocrity & other quick hits
• [61:09] Mailbag begins: players who truly changed their stripes (Wilt, Walton, Kareem, etc.)
• [72:12] “Die Hard” NBA comps: Jimmy Butler is John McClane, Rudy Gobert is Hans Gruber

Summary

A wide-ranging episode blending hard news (Jokic’s injury) with spirited, big-picture NBA analysis and plenty of wit. The hosts push for greater injury transparency, question current awards rules, advocate renewed youth marketing, and urge franchises to honor their legends sensibly. The mailbag rounds out the show with smart hoops history and pop culture mashups. Essential listening for any NBA fan wanting context, narrative, and real talk about the league’s direction.