Nikola Jokic is a Serbian professional basketball player. He plays for the National Basketball Association and he has also played basketball for Mega Basket, a Serbian basketball club in the Adriatic League and the Adriatic Basketball Association. As an NBA player, he plays for the Denver Nuggets.
He has been a consistently productive player and was able to record double-digit boards multiple times throughout his professional career. In 2023, he was named the NBA Finals MVP after he and the Nuggets won the NBA Championship.
Player Profile and Personal Life
Nikola Jokić was born on February 19, 1995. His hometown is in Sombor, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia.
This Serbian player stands 211 cm and his weight was last listed at 129 kg. He plays center and he is right-handed. He is married to his long-time girlfriend Natalija Mačešić. They married in October 2020 in his hometown. They have a daughter together.
Beginnings
Jokic began his youth basketball career playing for the junior team Vojvodina Srbijagas.
As he became a more significant player, he caught the interest of bigger clubs, including the Mega Vizura. This saw him play in the Serbian League when he was just 17.
KK Mega Basket
In 2012, Jokic signed with Mega Basket. While with the team in 2015, he was named the ABA League MVP or the Adriatic League’s most valuable player.
He later parted ways with the team and the league to join the NBA. By that time, he was averaging 18.4 points and 2.7 assists per game at the time.
NBA Career
In the 2014 NBA Draft, he was picked by the Denver Nuggets. He did not join them until the 2015 NBA Summer League. He signed with the team in July 2015 after playing five games with them in the summer league.
Early in 2016, he recorded a career-high of nine assists in a game against the Charlotte Hornets. He would later spend some time as a bench player but during that period he made season-high scoring. In 2016, he recorded double-digit boards, double-doubles, and near triple-doubles.
His first career triple-double was recorded in February 2017. In just a few games and within the same month, he had recorded his third triple-double. Also in the same month, he recorded a straight triple-double. He also kept making double-doubles consistently.
In this year, he scored a triple-double that helped the Nuggets win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The win made the Nuggets the first team in NBA history to come back from multiple 3-1 deficits. Despite this, they went on to lose the Western Conference final.
He also became one of the players in league history to have posted a 20-point triple-double-digit board in the postseason. The other players to have done so are Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. This season also saw Jokic get the most game ppg points of his career with 26.4. He also kicked off the 2020-2021 season scoring 4 triple-doubles in just his first six games.
In March 2021, he broke the record for the most double-doubles in the Nuggets franchise history. The previous record was held by Dikembe Mutombo. He would also be named the Western Conference Player of the Month for March.
At the end of the 2020-2021 season, he was named the NBA’s most valuable player, making him the first center to win the honor since Shaquille O'Neal did it back in 2000.
Also, since he was a 41st overall selection, he became the lowest-drafted player to have become MVP.
At the time, he was also named the EuroLeague’s MVP, making him one of the first NBA players in the history of the league to have done so. The other one is Vasilije Micic.
In 2021, he earned fourth-quarter stats of 5.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 61 games. In the All-Star game that year, he helped Team Lebron James win.
In early 2022, Jokic was averaging 25.3 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. He also continues his massive effort to help his team. In an April 2022 match against the Golden State Warriors, for example, he scored 30 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks, and one steal.
He continued setting and breaking records this year, including having 7 or more triple-doubles in a single month. This put him on par with players like Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
In 2023, Jokic helped lead his team to win the NBA Championships. That year, he was also named the NBA Finals MVP. He was also named an NBA All-Star for the fifth time that year.
National Team Career
In addition to his time with the NBA and the Adriatic League, he has also represented Serbia in international competitions. In 2013, he was part of the Serbian team that won the silver medal in the U19 World Championship.
In 2016, he was also on the Serbian team for the Rio Olympics. They won the silver medal for men’s basketball.
He was named the Serbian Player of the Year for 2018, 2021, and 2022.
Career Highlights
- 2023 - NBA Champion
- 2023 - NBA Finals MVP
- 2021, 2022 - NBA Most Valuable Player
- 2019–2023 - NBA All-Star
- 2019, 2021, 2022 - All-NBA First Team
- 2020, 2023 - All-NBA Second Team
- 2023 - NBA Western Conference Finals MVP
- 2016 - NBA All-Rookie First Team
- 2018, 2021, 2022 - Serbian Player of the Year
- 2015 - ABA League MVP
- 2015 - ABA League Top Prospect
Medal Record, Men’s basketball, Representing Serbia
- Silver - 2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro
- Silver - 2013 U19 World Championship Czech Republic
People Ask
How tall is Nikola Jokić?
He is 211 cm or 6 feet and 11 inches tall.
What country is Nikola Jokić from?
He was born in Sombor, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia and he represents Serbia in international competitions including the Olympics and World Cup.
When did Nikola Jokic win the NBA Championship?
In 2023. Along with the rest of the Denver Nuggets, Jokic won the NBA Championships.
