Nikola Jokic just accomplished the most significant athletic feat of his professional career and acquired a prize that only a precious few can claim: an NBA championship.
And how does he want to celebrate? Does he want to hit the clubs? Go to the Bahamas? Of course, he wants to go to the championship parade. Nope, he wants to go home to Serbia.
Following his team’s Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat, the reigning NBA MVP and now reigning NBA champ, Jokic, was asked by a reporter about his feelings after the thrilling win and his thoughts about the upcoming championship parade.
“When is parade?” Jokic asked.
The reporter told him the parade was scheduled for Thursday. This did not sit well with the big man.
“No,” he shot back as he slumped in his chair. “I need to go home.”
Jokic has consistently maintained that winning an NBA championship is “not the most important thing in the world.”
“It’s an amazing feeling, but like I said before, it’s not everything in [the] world. OK, I won it – not I, we won it – but I think it’s not the most important thing in the world, still. There’s [a] bunch of things that I like to do.”
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots a free throw during game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on June 12, 2023, at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. (Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Jokic continued, “It’s a good feeling when you know that you did something that nobody believes [you could have done]. It’s just us, it’s just the organization – the Nuggets believed in us. Every player believed in each other and I think that’s the most important thing.”
The Nuggets championship isn’t just a first for Jokic. It’s the first championship in the 47-year history of the franchise.