On the Knuckleheads Podcast, Serbian basketball legend Peja Stojakovic talked about Nikola Jokic’s humble beginnings. The 47-year-old couldn’t stress enough how amazed he was at how far the Joker has come.
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Stojakovic revealed that Jokic was a largely unknown name even in Serbia. He played for a very small club, and most people underestimated his basketball talent and potential. Stojakovic blamed Jokic’s nonchalant attitude for this.
The lack of passion in the Joker’s comments about his game led people to believe he is neither dedicated to the sport nor serious about it.
However, Stojakovic is grateful that the Nuggets’ front office decided to draft him despite the lack of buzz around his name. Jokic was a second-round, 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, which speaks to the lack of interest in him at the time.
Stojakovic said, “Jokic was not known in Europe. He played in this small club in Serbia and he’s one of those guys who did not care.”
“Credit to Denver, they drafted him in the second round and…now those two guys [Luka and Jokic] have ruined all my beliefs all these years that…you have to be athletic, you have to be fast…those two guys are just great examples of what fundamentals can do to the game,” he added.
In the last nine years, Jokic has gone from being an unknown player to arguably the best player in the world. He has won an NBA title, a Finals MVP, made six All-Star appearances and won three league MVP titles. He is also on course to win his fourth MVP this year as he is leading the KIA MVP Ladder.
What has remained unchanged all this time is that Jokic still doesn’t care about being an NBA superstar.
Nikola Jokic treats the NBA like a day job
Most athletes, when they start receiving 100s of millions of dollars, they start changing the way they live their lives. For Jokic, that has never been a desired approach. Despite being one of the most popular athletes in the league, he likes to stay out of the limelight and thinks that basketball is not the most important thing in life.
He once said, “Basketball is not the main thing in my life, and probably never [will] be. And to be honest, I like it, because I have something more at home, [something] that is more important than basketball.” Jokic has a loving family and he likes to spend time with them.
The Joker has a special corner in his heart for his horses as well. As soon as he is done playing basketball, he goes back to be with them and look after them.
