Before being chosen by the Denver Nuggets in 2014 from Serbia, Nikola Jokic was an obese, Coca-Cola-drinking child with a strange preoccupation with horses and harness racing.
Trainers remember him unable to do a push-up, and NBA organizations and media overlooked the 6-foot-11 adolescent despite his two elder siblings playing professionally.
Denver selected Jokic in the second round after the best prospects had been selected, but ESPN ran a late-night Taco Bell advertisement instead.
When Jokic immigrated to the US in 2015, he was already a changed man: He had his last Coke on the flight to Denver and promptly started a fitness regimen that reshaped his body.
As a married father, Jokic is the NBA’s biggest star after leading the Nuggets to a Game 1 triumph over the Miami Heat in the Finals Opener on Thursday. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal hailed the two-time NBA MVP for his ‘amazing passing, scoring, leadership’ and triple-double.
Nikola Jokic, Natalija, and their daughter Ognjena are pictured
Young Nikola (right) with parents Mr. and Mrs. Branislav and brother Nemanja.
Jokic scored a triple-double in Denver’s Game 1 win over Miami.
Mail Sport looks at Jokic’s incredible rise from a small Serbian hamlet to the top of basketball ahead of Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Denver on Sunday night.
Jokic was raised in a two-bedroom apartment in tiny Sombor with his parents, two siblings, and grandmother.
‘It’s a fairly small town on the northwest of Serbia,’ Jokic told SLAM magazine of the 40,000-person city. We have lovely nature. I like the folks there. Feels like family.
Branislav, Jokic’s agricultural engineer father, took after his older brothers Strahinja and Nemanja, who played elite basketball a decade earlier—Strahinja professionally in Europe and Nemanja collegiately in the US.
Basketball and horses were Jokic’s childhood hobbies.
Jokic stopped basketball for six months in his early teens to pursue harness racing.
Jokic told SLAM magazine, ‘Basketball was constantly in my life. My two elder brothers played basketball. Basketball became my passion because of them. Always played together.
But then I got into horse racing. I fell in love with horses’ grace and beauty. I considered it a hobby. I didn’t commit. I didn’t take basketball seriously either. I was in between.
Before discovering basketball, Jokic owned a Nuggets sweatshirt (left).
Young Jokic and Natalija in 2012, while they resided in Serbia.
Jokic says he finished fourth in one amateur jockey race before returning to basketball.
He was raised in basketball-crаzy Serbia, and YouTube made NBA highlights available. Jokic became obsessed with basketball after being charmed by its finest players.
“When YouTube came out, I started watching highlights from some players, some moves, but not the whole games,” he remarked aged 14. This was like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Now, important games, Finals, and All-Stars air on TV.
In Game 1, Jokic’s wife Natalija and daughter Ognjena are shown.
Jokic’s brothers Strahinja (left) and Nemanja are prominent Denver fans.
Jokic’s one-handed passing style resembled water polo, one of Serbia’s national sports, and he exhibited an instinctive understanding of the game.
‘Nikola’s passing isn’t great,’ Mega Basket coach Dejan Milojevic told Sports Illustrated. It’s amazing.
Jokic was developing an all-around game, helped by his selflessness, while other centers were learning to survive near the hoop.
Jokic’s issue was conditioning, not competence.
‘I recognized immediately that this guy’s really talented,’ Milojevic added. ‘But his body’s in dreadful shape.
Jokic consumed three liters of Coca-Cola a day as a teen, but Mega Basket helped him get in shape.
Milojevic had Jokic work with a trainer for a month before shifting him to Mega Basket’s youth team, where coaches noticed him immediately.
Jokic was observed at a Serbian stable in the offseason, still interested in horses.
This photo shows Jokic as a teenager harness racing in Serbia.
This photo shows Jokic as a teenager harness racing in Serbia.
After mastering a tricky two-ball dribble, Branislav Vicentic, his junior team coach, questioned Jokic if he had rehearsed the drill.
He said, “No, this is the first time,” Vicentic told SI.com.
Jokic was junior league MVP before joining Mega Basket’s senior club and impressing.
Instead of using speed and athleticism, Jokic used his slow, plodding pace to fool teams before unleashing lightning-quick passes and unusual shots.
‘He’s so slow that his basketball mind slows down and he perceives the game in slow motion,’ former college coach and ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla told SI.com. ‘He’s not amped up like many young players, so he can make plays.’
Jokic was drafted 41st overall by the Nuggets in 2014 after attracting NBA scouts.
One alleged NBA official told Sports Illustrated, ‘there was an appearance bias,’ and ‘the guy had no muscular definition’
Jokic played one more Adriatic League season, winning MVP and rebounding titles.
After signing with Denver in 2015, he moved into a three-bedroom apartment with his brothers and his then-girlfriend, Natalija, a Somber native and longtime friend.
Jokic and Novak Djokovic visit Belgrade in 2020.
Before he arrived to the US, where Natalija played collegiate volleyball, they dated long-distance. The two became inseparable quickly.
Natalija often accompanied Jokic on the road or sat with his brothers at Denver games.
Natalija cooked at home unless brother Nemanja wаnted to roast cevapi.
‘Natalija cooks most, but I am the grill person,’ Nemanja told Bleacher Report in 2017.
Jokic told BR that he was ‘homesick’ without his parents, but his brothers and Natalija supported him, which was vital in his early NBA career.
‘Nikola doesn’t have a choice in whether he wants us around or not,’ Nemanja told SI.
His intelligence makes me convinced he won’t stray. This is such a crucial moment, and I want him to have the support I didn’t. Always tell him, “You’re living my dream.” Do not overlook it.
Jokic began training with Felipe Eichenberger in Denver, which helped him progress.
As a rookie, Jokic averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, but Eichenberger saw his potential in his tenacity.
Jimmy Butler defends Jokic in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Under Eichenberger’s supervision, Jokic ran sprints and lifted weights after participating in NBA games.
‘It’s been the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen,’ Eichenberger told NBA.com.
He goes all the way when Nikola puts something in his head. We suggested he lose weight for longevity. He played 32 minutes. He always had the ball. That was exhausting. He would still sprint and workout after the game. After workouts, his shirt was saturated and he lost weight.
It’s fantastic to see him improve his game knowledge and fitness.
Jokic rose in the NBA after learning to run and dunk.
Jokic, an All-Star in 2018-19, saw more playing time when the Nuggets moved center Jusuf Nurkic to Portland in 2017.
Eichenberger sought to convince Jokic of his limitless potential then.
‘It was humorous,’ Eichenberger remarked. He and I had one of the most heated conversations of 2019. ”You’re going to be MVP.”
”No; I’m not.”
”Yes, you are.”
‘We went on and on, and he became quite upset,’ Eichenberger said.
Despite his talent, Jokic saw himself as a facilitator who helped NBA stars improve.
Eichenberger stated, ”That’s not who I am” and ”I want to make other players better. ”MVPs have to be selfish and think about numbers, but I don’t.”
‘I don’t care what you sаy; you’ll be MVP one day.” Keep moving back and forth. He worked hard, yet it occurred.
Not once, but twice.
Jokic with former colleagues Mudiay, Harris, Nelson, and Arthur.
Jokic was MVP in 2021 and 2022, but Joel Embiid won this season. He didn’t seem to mind.
‘I don’t worry about MVPs anymore,’ he told reporters. I think people are nasty for claiming Embiid shouldn’t have won. Perhaps he should have won. It appears he played incredibly tough basketball throughout the season. He was great in 82 games.
Jokic rejects his teammates’ claim that he’s the Nuggets’ best player.
Murray claims Jokic is Denver’s best, but he argues Canadian-born guard Jamal Murray is.
Murray remarked earlier in the postseason, ‘He is our greatest player and we are tracking him right now.
Jokic has gotten more private recently. After marrying Natalija in 2020 (Jokic plays with his wedding band in his sneakers), they had Ognjena the following year.
As Jokic has led Denver to its first NBA Finals, Ognjena has become a regular Nuggets fan.
Jokic wears his wedding band in his sneakers to honor wife Natalija.
‘I remember the days when nobody was in our [gym],’ Jokic said after the Nuggets swept LeBron James’ Lakers in four games in the Western Conference Finals. You could hear the ball bounce on the floor without fans. We now sell out every other night.
Jokic’s improvement is more impressive than the team’s 30-52 before his arrival in 2015.
“He’s an ultra-conditioned athlete now,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the conference finals. The guy can play for minutes and play well.
“You know he came as a boy,” said Serbian-born Nuggets assistant coach Ognjen Stojaković to ESPN. ‘Now he’s dad.