MINNEAPOLIS – After a five-year reign as the undisputed best hooper on the planet, Nikola Jokic’s championship belt is on the line.

There’s no debating the No. 1 reason Denver’s season is on the brink in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The greatest player to ever wear a Nuggets uniform has stunk.

In three playoff games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with all the magical strings he regularly pulls coming up empty, Jokic has often appeared to be at the end of his rope, on the verge of letting go, befuddled by a clunky shooting touch that has betrayed his disbelieving eyes. 

“It’s frustrating,” Jokic admitted after a 113-96 loss to the Timberwolves in Game 3 that saw him shoot 7 for 26 from the field and suffer through the worst playoff performance of his brilliant pro career.

Where have you gone, Joker? Nuggets Nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

He simply does not look like his MVP self.

I am no doctor and don’t pretend to know if there are any lingering effects of the frightening injury that caused Jokic to miss 16 games after hyperextending his left knee in late December.

Since his return to the lineup, however, Jokic’s shooting touch from 3-point range has gone clunky. Before the injury, he shot 44 percent from beyond the arc. Since the injury? 32 percent. A mere coincidence? I think not.

Never a rim-protector, his lack of defensive bounce has often caught Jokic flat-footed when a Minnesota dribbler attacks, turning Denver’s center into a helpless observer.

The subtle head feints and premier danseur footwork that allow Jokic to play the game at his pace have been undermined by a lack of decisive finishing, much like a boxer willing to jab but unable to finish the combination with a knockout punch.

After being head-scratchingly passive in the early stages of the Game 2 loss in Ball Arena, Jokic obviously looked to assert himself as this best-of-seven series moved to Minneapolis.

But as he missed six straight shots to open Game 3, with the last one rejected by Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, Denver teammates went into the basketball version of shock as Jokic’s offensive wizardry went poof and disappeared.

“It wasn’t like he doesn’t make those (shots) every day of his life,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said. “I’ve never seen him shoot what he shot (Thursday). That’s just kind of an outlier type of game.” 

So was the inept Game 3 performance by Jokic an outlier?

Or is Jokic running on empty?

When he’s merely frustrated, Jokic has a tendency to take it out on the refs.

But when he’s truly befuddled, Jokic begins to chuck reckless passes. 

Since winning the first of his three Most Valuable Player awards in 2021, Jokic has been more than the best player in the league. He has crafted one of the most statistically dominant five-year stretches in basketball history, playing offensively at a generational level that few outside of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain have ever touched.

Down 2-1 in this series, the Nuggets have issues.

They need Aaron Gordon, who watched the end of practice Friday with ice wrapped around a strained calf, back in the lineup.

David Adelman needs to make one of those decisions that shape a first-time head coach. Does he stick with a stubborn commitment to a small lineup off the bench, or give forgotten big man Jonas Valanciunas a chance to battle the advantages established by the Timberwolves in physicality and rebounding?

But please don’t suggest to me that Gobert is having his way with Jokic. That’s poppycock. Joker has made a habit of clowning Gobert for years.

And in four regular-season games this season against Minnesota, Jokic averaged 36 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said: “You’re not going to keep a player like that down for an entire series. … We’ve been on the other side of a bunch of Jokic beatdowns, too.”

If Joker goes 36/15/11 against the Timberwolves in Game 4, the Nuggets will win. Guaranteed.

“You’ve got to win the next one, and then we’re going to think about the future,” Jokic said. “But the next one is a really important game for us. So we’ve got to get out there with urgency.”

If he’s still the best player in the world, Jokic will refuse to lose.

Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to win his second consecutive MVP award.

There’s San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama, who suggests that aliens might indeed live among us.

And unrepentant gunslinger Luka Doncic, who will someday bring the Lakers their 18th NBA championship.

They’ve got next.

Will Jokic pass the torch without a fight?

Or stubbornly refuse to abdicate his throne?

The title of best hooper on the planet is on the line.