Denver Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic has risen in the ranks of the NBA over the past couple of years. The Serbian-born player was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player two years in a row. He has also been named to the NBA All-Star team every year since 2019.
Hes also popular in his native Serbia and was named the Serbian Player of the Year in 2018 and 2021. But who really is The Joker, how did he even get that nickname, how is his career shaping up so far, and what other great things should can we expect from him going forward?
Lets dive in!
Beginnings
Jokic was born in Sombor in the northern part of Serbia as the son of an agricultural engineer. He started taking interest in basketball at a young age when he played with his older brothers. Both of his brothers would also go on to play basketball professionally.
He played youth basketball for Vojvodina Srbijagas where he dominated and got noticed by Mega Vizura in the Adriatic League. He also played for the team in Serbian League where he would average 10.9 points per game.
NBA Draft
When he was drafted into the NBA in 2014, the nearly 7-foot tall athlete was back home in Serbia fast asleep. His older brother Nemanja called him from New York with news that would change his life.
On the call, his brother reportedly said, “You got drafted in the NBA! How do you sleep right now?”
He was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the 2nd round of the 2014 NBA Draft but he would not sign with them until 2015. That year, he was voted third in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting. Jokic was also given NBA All-Rookie First Team Honors.
An Improving Game
By 2016-2017, Jokic started to show much improvement. On October 29, 2016, he recorded a then career-high 23 points and 17 rebounds. He would follow this by a couple of near triple-doubles but around this time, he was still mostly a bench player.
He recorded his first triple-double in February 2017 in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. He followed it with his second triple-double the following night. He would go on to make a total of six triple-doubles that year.
His game would only continue to improve and by the time the 2017-2018 season rolled around, he was already constantly setting new career-high scores. He was also named the Western Conference Player of the Week on November 13, 2017.
Breakout Season
In July 2018, he signed a five-year contract extension with the Nuggets that was reportedly worth $148 million. Early in the 2018-2019 season, he was named the Player of the Week for the third time in his career.
Also, this season, he was named to the NBA All-Star team for the first time. Not only that but he was also named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time this year. He was the first All-Star from the Nuggets since Carmelo Anthony was named to the team in 2011.
He would go on to the named to the All-Star team again in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The Joker is the MVP
As athletes become more of an icon, they usually pick up a nickname that sticks. Shaquille ONeal became known simply as Shaq and in his heyday, Charles Barkley was known as the Round Mount of Rebound.
Jokic, in his short career, has picked up the name The Joker. The nickname was apparently coined by Jokic’s former Nuggets teammate, Mike Miller. Miller gave the Serbian the nickname because he was having trouble pronouncing Jokic’s name. It stuck.
Its even reached the point where a Serbian men’s basketball club changed its name to KK Joker in honor of Jokic.
Following the NBA Bubble, Jokic’s career only continued to grow and in the 2020-2021 season, he was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
Despite a year where he struggled with injuries, Jokic still managed to lead the Nuggets to a third seed in the Western Conference. For his performance in the regular season, he was then awarded the Most Valuable Player Award.
He became the first center to win the award since Shaquille O’Neal received it back in 2000. Since he was a second-draft pick, Jokic also became the lowest drafted player in the NBA to be named a league MVP.
Triple Double Master
In the 2021-2022 season, Jokic recorded his 60th triple-double. With that, he overtook Larry Bird as 8th on the list for all-time triple-doubles. As of this writing, Jokic has made a whopping 78 triple-doubles and is 7th on the all-time list and just 2 more triple-doubles behind Wilt Chamberlain.
He recorded his 76th triple-double in March 2022 in a game against the Charlotte Hornets.
He is now past James Harden who has 68 and its very likely he will continue to make more triple-doubles in his career and may even have enough to kick LeBron James off the 5th spot with his 105 and counting.
MVP the Second Time Around
Jokic was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second time in a row in 2022. He beat out Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo for the award and he became the 13th player in the history of the league to win the award in two consecutive seasons.
This season, he was again named to the All-NBA First Team. He was also named an NBA All-Star for the fourth time in a row.
What the Future Holds
Reports are circulating that the two-time MVP is remaining with the Nuggets and has no plans of leaving just yet. In fact, he is rumored to be planning to sign a supermax contract extension with the team in a deal that could net him $260 million.
With Jokic seemingly committed to play for the Nuggets, it is now up to the team to capitalize on his massive talent and try and build a championship-worthy roster around him.