There are legendary stories about how the best in NBA history put in hours at the gym and the practice courts, on their way to attaining stardom and more — GOAT status even. Then we have this superstar who has long been rumored to hate practice sessions, yet is a legend in his own right. But is Nikola Jokic that averse to training?
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Jokic’s dissent toward practice doesn’t come out of thin air. He appears nonchalant about the idea of putting in the work and even admitted to it in an interview once. “Well, I like to play, but I don’t really like to practice. I mean, who does? No one in the world likes to practice,” the three-time MVP said in a 2022 interview.
However, there’s not too much to read into what Jokic said. At least that’s what Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who won the championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, suggests.
Caldwell-Pope said that just because there’s a perception of the big Serb not being too active on the court outside of games, it doesn’t mean it’s true. On Above the Rim with DH12, he revealed to Dwight Howard that the “crazy” things Jokic does during games are things he practices behind the scenes.
The host of the show, however, refused to buy that, saying, “They make it seem like he don’t practice or he don’t put in time.”
This agitated both Caldwell-Pope and Howard. The three-time DPOY stated that it’s an accusation that players don’t like, after which Caldwell-Pope added, “That’s just like saying LeBron [James] ain’t put in the time.”
Both of the NBA stars know what it’s like to win chips with James. They were teammates at the Lakers in 2020, when James led them to victory in the Bubble.
They’ve seen firsthand just how much work LeBron puts in behind the scenes to still be one of the best, despite nearing the end of his professional career. And Jokic, according to KCP, isn’t that different.
Caldwell-Pope explained Jokic’s persona, which the wider NBA audience has misinterpreted. It’s not that Jokic doesn’t practice. He just enjoys other things, like horse-riding, in his free time.
Jokic may not enjoy shooting hoops in an empty gym more than spending time with the horses. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t ‘put in the time.’ That said, pre-NBA Jokic was a different beast.
The talent was always there, but the 7-foot big man didn’t like conditioning. He would often skip practice sessions by faking injuries, just to be near horses. Mike Singer, a former Denver Post reporter, shed light on a story from Jokic’s first coach in an episode of The Hoop Collective podcast.
Attendance records, monitored by the coach, showed that Jokic would only practice when a game was near. “He went to the river, he was everywhere he could be outside of the gym. So, in this practice log, he attends practice three straight times, then goes to the game, and then skips the next 12 practices for his team,” said Singer.
“There were times in practice that I included in this book where he faked injuries to get out of practice. He hated running so much that his teammates knew he hated running, but he was so damn good that they needed him,” Singer added.
Thankfully, for both the Nuggets and Jokic himself, he changed. Today, he hits some insane shots, unlike anything seen in the NBA before.
Take the Sombor Shuffle, his signature move. It might look like plain luck to outsiders. But those who’ve seen him practice — however begrudgingly — know it’s the result of work done away from the cameras.
