“Canceling that trip to the White House”: NBA insider reveals shocking update amid Denver Nuggets dropping presidential visit

The Denver Nuggets were crowned the 2023 NBA champions with Nikola Jokic as the NBA Finals MVP. As is custom, the world champions would typically pay a visit to the White House to celebrate their achievement. However, the Nuggets have yet to visit the president, and it appears it may never happen.

According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Nuggets initially postponed their scheduled visit to the White House in January. It was then moved to March 18, but it appears that Denver will cancel again. The reason is due to the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 19. Denver is battling to finish the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Minnesota and the Oklahoma City Thunder have the top records in the West at 43-19. Denver is a game behind at 42-20, heading into Thursday's games.

"The Denver Nuggets are prioritizing that No. 1 seed," Haynes said. "They were supposed to go visit the White House in late January. ... They're canceling that trip (on March 18) to prioritize that Timberwolves game on March 19."

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Can the Denver Nuggets notch the first seed this season?

Throughout most of this season, the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets (42-20) managed to keep their momentum going as they remained one of the Western Conference's top teams.

The Nuggets can take the top spot before the regular season ends. However, it's easier said than done. Despite Denver having the potential 2024 NBA MVP, the Timberwolves and Thunder have proven to be worthy contenders. Both teams consistently remained among the top two teams in the West.

Given that only 20 games are remaining for Denver, the Nuggets will need to be close to, if not, perfect. The Nuggets were on a six-game winning streak before losing to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Throughout those six games, Nikola Jokic took charge, averaging 24.8 points, 14.1 rebounds, 11.6 assists and 1.8 steals. His most impressive game was against the Washington Wizards when he put up a triple-double performance with 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists. To add the cherry on top, the "Joker" was perfect from the line sinking 10 out of 10 shots.

However, despite Jokic's efforts to help the Denver Nuggets notch the top seed, Minnesota's duo of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns and OKC's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have performed just as well as Jokic did to help carry their respective teams. Gilgeous-Alexander is even one of the leaders to win the MVP award this season.

Anything can happen at this point. While the Nuggets have a high chance of securing the first seed in the playoffs, the Timberwolves and Thunder are just as locked in.