Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets Aren't Satisfied
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic celebrates with teammates after winning the 2023 NBA championship.Nikola Jokic might be the humblest superstar athlete who ever lived.
A day after fellow Serbian countryman Novak Djokovic made tennis history by winning the French Open and his 23rd Grand Slam title — the most for any man in tennis history — Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to their first NBA championship in franchise history and was named the 2023 NBA Finals MVP.
Then, Jokic lost his trophy. But he found it just in time for the championship parade and to bring home to Serbia for some horse racing with his horses.
Jokic, 28, really doesn't care about stats or individual accolades, so he piles them up. The more you give, the more you get. Funny how that works. In 20 postseason games, he averaged 30.0 points (600 total), 13.5 rebounds (269), and 9.5 assists (190). He scored 151 points with 70 rebounds and 36 assists in five games alone to beat the Miami Heat.
"It’s good, it’s good," Jokic said about being an NBA champion. "The job is done. We can go home now."
This could be the beginning of a great run in Denver. Jokic and the Nuggets are hungry for more.
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From Serbia to World Champion
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Nikola Jokic averaged 30 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists in 20 playoff games in 2023.The 6-foot-11, 284-pound center from Sombor, Serbia, has come a long way from being a second-round pick (41st overall) in the 2014 NBA draft.
"That first Summer League in Vegas, 300 pounds, out of shape, hey, he's a nice player," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone recalled during the playoffs. "No one, and if anybody tells you different, they're full of s---, no one could have seen that he'd be a two-time MVP passing Wilt Chamberlain every other night."
Malone’s whole take on Jokic sums up what greatness is.
A New Gold Standard
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Nikola Jokic: "Basketball is not the main thing in my life. It’s something that I’m good at."The Nuggets are early favorites to win the 2024 NBA title and repeat. Nikola Jokic is the early favorite to be the league MVP.
NBA Championship Odds 2023-24
NBA Regular-Season MVP 2023-24
Odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook and subject to change.
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