This week, TIME Magazine released their list of the most 100 influential people in sports; a collective of some of the most highly-recognized trail blazers across the world when it comes to sports.
And in that list, there was a bunch of recognizable and deserving names for those honors, many of which were NBA and WNBA players: LeBron James, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Caitlin Clark, Victor Wembanyama; several names that you’d expect to be in that mix.
However, in that mix of NBA players who landed amongst some of the most influential in the world of sports, one glaring omission sticks out as a little egregious: Denver Nuggets three-time MVP center Nikola Jokic.
Nikola Jokic Omitted From TIME’s Most Influential in Sports
It’s a bit of a shocking revelation once you take a second to absorb in the entire 100-person list.
How is Nikola Jokic, one of the best basketball players in the world and an international star of the game, not included in this wide range of influential talents?
You don’t have to look too deep into his list of accolades to tell that Jokic is, and has been, a top talent in his respective sport for some time now.
Since 2018, Jokic has collected six-consecutive top-two MVP finishes, eighth-straight All-NBA nods, a championship and Finals MVP in 2023, and just became the first player in league history to lead the NBA in rebounds and assists average for a season.
Sure, there are a lot of talented people across the world when it comes to sports, some that don’t even suit up and play. But how many among those are as decorated and talented as the Nuggets’ star big man?
It’s hard to find 100 that could fit that criteria, but TIME’s been able to do just that.
Let’s look at a few names on the list who were included in that share of 100 names, but debatably don’t have the same type of reputation to match up with someone like Jokic:
– Cooper Flagg: Sure, he’s the reigning Rookie of the Year. But more influential than Jokic? Come on.
– Saquon Barkley: If it were a list of 2025’s most influential, Barkley makes more sense. Too bad it’s 2026 and his latest production was nearly half as good as the year before.
– Masai Ujiri: Didn’t he just get fired from Toronto less than a year ago?
– Kristin Juszczyk: I have my questions about a DIY fashion designer making the cut for this list when compared to some other contenders.
– Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok: Should an e-sports player even count for this? Debatable. Regardless, it shouldn’t be at the expense of Nikola Jokic’s spot.
– Stephen M. Ross: The Miami Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since the Clinton administration. That alone should disqualify Ross from being anywhere near a list like this.
– IShowSpeed: I don’t even need to explain this one.
Even if you had to make the list a collection of 101 names just to fit Jokic in that mix, it’d make things look a whole lot better. Instead, the Nuggets’ big man is left hanging, and virtually forgotten about as one of the top talents in the sport of basketball.
Does a placement in TIME Magazine’s most influential list mean much in the grand scheme of things? Not really.
At the same time, it does come off as at least a little disrespectful to leave off one of the best basketball players of this generation from this list, as someone who’s almost redefined what one can do at the center position, and is already judged as a top 25 talent that’s ever suited up in the NBA.
Jokic probably isn’t sweating his snub too much, especially not at this point in the offseason. But if he and the Nuggets are able to have a bit of a resurgent year for the 2026-27 season compared to the one they just finished, it’ll make his oversight look even more head-scratching in due time.
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