Nikola Jokic Misses Luka Doncic at the All-Star Festivities: “We Always Have a Good Night Before the Game”

It’s NBA All-Star weekend and the stars are all out in San Francisco — except for Luka Doncic. The Slovenian superstar was not voted for this year’s festivities due to his early season injury, which saw him miss a lot of games. One person who has been missing Doncic this weekend is his European counterpart, Nikola Jokic.

The Serbian was asked to give his thoughts on Doncic getting traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis during All-Star media day. He stated that both the Lakers and the Mavericks “won the trade,” but he has a much stronger opinion about Doncic as a player.

“Luka is a generational player, generational talent,” Jokic stated. “He was building something there.”

Asked Nikola Jokic about his good friend Luka Doncic being traded to the Lakers:

“He was building something there. He was hurt.”

Is it weird not having Luka at All-Star festivities?

“It’s weird because we always have a good night before the game.” pic.twitter.com/e2RMjljcuU

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) February 15, 2025

Jokic also spoke about how Doncic’s trade was a “good thing” and may serve as a wake-up call to teams and players that trades should be taken more seriously.

“I think a trade is not such a big thing but if you traded someone like that it kind of becomes a little bit of a big thing. Maybe players will become a little bit more serious about it.”

Doncic’s absence from All-Star weekend is still weird, especially since it breaks a trend of five straight appearances for the Lakers’ newest superstar. “It’s weird because we always have a good night before the game,” the Joker joked.

Jokic and Doncic always played on the same team in the All-Star game — and boy did they know how to have fun. Aside from creating some sensational moments on the court and balling out for the West, the two had some fun moments off the court as well.

One time, during one of Doncic’s press interviews, Jokic snuck up behind him and poured water down his shirt. A different time, Jokic did an interview and claimed that Doncic was “horrible for basketball” and was making everyone look bad. Safe to say, Jokic will have to find someone else to prank this weekend in Frisco as his Slovenian brother is in a different California city.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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