Does Jokic Really Play With Starters While SGA Carries the Bench?
February 6, 2026
You've probably heard the narrative: Jokic plays with his starters while SGA carries the bench. It's one of those things that gets repeated constantly in the MVP debate. But is it actually true?
I wanted to see what the data says. Not vibes, not eye test, actual minute-by-minute rotation data.
The Methodology
I pulled rotation data from every game this season using the NBA's GameRotation endpoint. For each game, I tracked exactly when each player was on court, down to the second. Then for every moment Jokic or SGA was playing, I counted how many of that game's other 4 starters were also on the floor.
This is important: I'm counting whoever started that specific game as a "starter". So if Spencer Jones or Jalen Pickett is filling in due to injuries, they count as a starter for that game. This gives us the cleanest measure of "playing with your team's best available lineup" vs "carrying bench units".
The Results
Here's the full breakdown of minutes by how many other starters were on court.
| # Other Starters | Jokic (min) | Jokic % | SGA (min) | SGA % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 8.3 | 0.3% | 250.5 | 10.0% |
| 1 | 299.1 | 11.8% | 362.8 | 14.5% |
| 2 | 363.6 | 14.4% | 445.3 | 17.8% |
| 3 | 619.6 | 24.5% | 515.7 | 20.6% |
| 4 | 1239.0 | 49.0% | 930.6 | 37.2% |
| Total | 2529.5 | 100% | 2504.9 | 100% |
That's a lot of numbers. Let me visualize it.
The pattern is stark. Jokic's distribution is heavily skewed toward 4 starters - nearly half his minutes are with the full starting lineup. SGA's distribution is much flatter, spread across all categories.
Key Findings
| Metric | Jokic | SGA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| % with ALL 4 starters | 49.0% | 37.2% | +11.8 pp |
| % with 3-4 starters | 73.5% | 57.8% | +15.7 pp |
| % with 0 starters (pure bench) | 0.3% | 10.0% | -9.7 pp |
| Games analyzed | 69 | 73 | - |
Three things stand out:
1. Jokic plays way more with all starters. He spends 49% of his minutes with all 4 other starters on the floor. SGA is at 37.2%. That's nearly 12 percentage points difference.
2. SGA actually plays significant bench-only minutes. He spends 10% of his time with zero other starters - pure bench lineups. Jokic? Just 0.3%. That's a huge difference in workload.
3. The 3-4 starters gap is even bigger. Combine the "full lineup" and "minus one starter" categories: Jokic is at 73.5%, SGA at 57.8%. Nearly 16 percentage points.
What Does This Mean?
The narrative is confirmed. Jokic really does play more with his starters, and SGA really does carry bench units more often.
But here's the nuance: this isn't necessarily a knock on either player. Denver's rotation philosophy keeps their best 5 together more. OKC staggers SGA more, trusting him to elevate bench lineups. Both approaches have merit.
For the MVP debate though, it does matter. When you see SGA's insane +18 on-court net rating, remember he's doing it while spending 10% of his minutes with pure bench lineups. Jokic's numbers come with the luxury of almost always having his starters around him.
The eye test was right - Jokic plays with starters, SGA plays with the bench.
Now, is playing with Denver's starters better than playing with Thunder's bench? You choose - Caruso and Cason Wallace? Or Spencer Jones? (love you Spence)