Nikola Jokic Nearly Had a Mental Breakdown When He Found Out The Nuggets Championship Parade Isn't Until Thursday And That He Can't Go Home To Serbia Before That
Watching Nikola Jokic deal with winning an NBA championship has made my night. And notice how I said "deal with" because there's no celebrating here. He accomplished his mission of winning a title in Denver this year and now it's time to go home, back to Serbia to be with his family and horses.
He hilariously said, "The job is done, we can go home now," as if he just finished off winning a war and is disgusted with how many enemies he had to slaughter to be victorious. I've never seen a guy who could not care any less about winning a championship and reaching the top of the mountain. It's truly fascinating. You'd think especially after getting all that unnecessary shit for "stat padding" his way to MVP awards over the recent years he'd take some time to smile and soak it all in. Dude just cemented himself as one of the greatest centers in the history of the game and has no interest in the glory. He doesn't care, it's time to go home.
The biggest problem for Nikola currently? Well, now that he's conquered the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards and now Jimmy Butler he must tackle one more obstacle — time. The championship parade isn't until THURSDAY? Upon finding this information out Jokic nearly had a mental breakdown. The man was in pure disbelief that he has to stay here until the end of the week. That immediate "no" is the same one you give your mom as a kid when she informs you there's five more stores to go to before it's time to go home. Jokic thought he could hop on the jet tonight and wake up in Serbia to be with his horses, one of which it sounds like has a race on Sunday. Instead he has to find something to do for the next few days as the rest of the Nuggets party endlessly. He's probably gonna find his way to a farm and leave his phone at home so guys like Murray, Porter, and Brown can't drag him out to the clubs to celebrate. Based off his reaction checking his phone here he probably just throws that thing out altogether and gets a new number.
He's not only a one of a kind basketball player, but at the same time a one of a kind human. Jokic actually views the profession of being a star basketball player the same way a regular accountant does. The old saying "every job becomes a job at some point, no matter how great it is" applies perfectly here. You may look at an NBA star making $50 million as the dream, but to Nikola it's just how he makes a living, and he doesn't mean that in a disrespectful way. He just so happens to be unbelievable at this game, but his joy in life lies at home with his horses and family. How can you not respect the hell out of that? I can't wait to see how miserable he looks at the parade in a few days.