Panathinaikos owner Dimitrios Giannakopoulos says he already tried to pry Nikola Jokic away from the Denver Nuggets with a buyout offer this year, and he is not done trying. Giannakopoulos told the “Euro Insiders” podcast that his club made a “very serious proposal” to both the Nuggets and Jokic himself aimed at buying out the final season of the three-time NBA MVP’s contract, only for Denver to shut it down almost instantly.
The remarks, first surfaced by ESPN’s Anthony Slater, mark one of the boldest public admissions yet of a European club trying to lure a reigning NBA superstar mid-contract. Jokic, 31, has two years and $121.8 million remaining on his deal with Denver, but the second season is a $63.8 million player option for 2027-28 — meaning he can walk into unrestricted free agency next summer if he chooses to decline it.
What Giannakopoulos Actually Said
“I did make a very serious proposal this year both to his team and to him,” Giannakopoulos said. “I got a rejection. I know that he has one more year of a contract.” He added that Denver’s response was blunt and immediate: “It took a few seconds [for the Nuggets] to say, ‘Who? Greece? Where? What? Bye.’ But let’s wait until next year.”
That closing line is the real headline here. Giannakopoulos isn’t backing off — he’s signaling intent to circle back once Jokic’s contract situation opens up. Jokic became eligible for a four-year, $278 million max extension in June but has held off, saying his preference is to stay in Denver for the rest of his career while waiting on financial timing. He becomes eligible for an even larger deal — a five-year, $359.5 million extension, reportedly the richest contract in NBA history — in July 2027. If he opts out of his 2027-28 option instead of re-signing, he’d be a true free agent, and technically fair game for Panathinaikos or any other suitor, NBA or otherwise.
Jokic’s résumé makes clear why a club would go to these lengths. He’s a three-time NBA MVP (2021, 2022, 2024), the 2023 NBA champion and Finals MVP after leading Denver to its first title in franchise history, and an eight-time All-Star. Last season he averaged a triple-double for the second straight year — 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game — while finishing second in MVP voting yet again. He remains, by any measure, one of the two or three best players alive.
How This Reads for Bettors and Futures Markets
Nothing about Jokic’s on-court situation changes today — he’s suiting up for Denver this season regardless. But stories like this matter for anyone holding or considering long-range futures, because they inject real uncertainty into a timeline that sportsbooks have already started pricing. Jokic currently sits near the front of the 2027 Finals MVP board at +2800, tied for the fifth-shortest odds behind Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at +290, Jalen Brunson at +1100 and Jayson Tatum at +1800. On the regular-season MVP side for 2026-27, he’s priced around +550, third behind Wembanyama (+200) and Gilgeous-Alexander (+350).
The Nuggets themselves carry 2027 championship odds in the range of +2200 to +2800 depending on the book, putting them solidly in the league’s second tier of contenders rather than among the favorites — Spurs and Thunder sit at the top near +250 to +265. Any Jokic-to-Panathinaikos chatter that gains real traction next summer would be the kind of headline that moves those Nuggets futures fast, since his gravity alone accounts for a huge share of Denver’s title equity. For now, this is posturing from a wealthy EuroLeague owner rather than a market-moving transaction, and Jokic has been consistent in saying he wants to finish his career in Denver. But it’s a storyline worth bettors filing away: the moment Jokic’s 2027 free agency gets closer, every futures line tied to the Nuggets — championship odds, conference odds, MVP markets — becomes more sensitive to noise like this, whether or not Panathinaikos ever gets a real answer.
