The 2025 NFL scouting combine is taking place this week, meaning virtually the entire football world will be in Indiana for the next seven days for Lucas Oil Stadium’s annual event.

What it also means is that the city of Indianapolis is buzzing—and there’s no better example of that than Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton attending an Indiana Pacers game on a Monday night in February. Luckily for him, it was his Denver brethren in the Nuggets in town.

Ahead of the contest, Payton spoke with Altitude TV’s Katy Winge and was asked how Nuggets star Nikola Jokic’s game could translate to the NFL, sparking this hilarious—and detailed—answer:

“I like it. I see a tight end though, I don’t see a quarterback,” Payton explained. “I think that’s the reason [Nuggets head coach] Mike [Malone] has kept me away from the warmup here. We probably can’t pay him as much as he gets paid but obviously you see—you know it’s one thing to pass, but you also see someone who catches and has real soft hands. I think what’s very underrated, or never discussed, is how someone can accept a pass. Some people don’t have natural ball skills and he seems to have that.

“And then the other thing we were just discussing,” he continued. “His stamina and his availability each night, you know, he’s got that recovery that a lot of players don’t have.”

Pretty awesome to see Payton give a real answer here.

With the Broncos head coach in attendance, Jokic tallied a career-high 19 assists while leading the Nuggets to a 125-116 win over the Pacers.