“I’m Just a Name There”: Months After Taking Social Media Crown, Humble Nikola Jokic Refuses to Take Praise for Brother’s Huge Success

Reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic has changed the dynamics of the game ever since he entered the league in 2014. Although he was drafted quite low in the NBA draft, the Serbian basketball superstar proved everyone wrong with his achievements. Not to mention, he has helped grow the game in Europe, especially in Serbia. Interestingly, there’s a basketball team in his hometown that is named after the Denver Nuggets superstar!

Recently, the team achieved a huge milestone as they qualified for the Serbian top division. Talking to the media after a Nuggets practice session, the 28-year-old rightfully refused to take any praise for the team’s achievements.

Humble Nikola Jokic directs the praises away from himself

Jokic hails from the town of Sombor in Serbia. Thanks to his immense success in the NBA, basketball has become widely popular in the region. The local team, KK Joker, is run by the Nuggets superstar’s father. His elder brother, Strahinja, is the general manager of the team.

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Recently, KK Joker qualified for the Serbian top division of basketball after competing in the second division for quite some time. Nikola Jokic was evidently very happy when asked to talk about the team’s successes. However, he was humble enough to not take any praise for himself.

“I’m just a name there, you know, my brother is doing that. He is the main man, he is the general manager, and he is everything there. So, everybody else just represents. Of course, we watch every single game and I think it’s really good for the city and the people in Sombor”, said The Joker.

The team wasn’t always owned by the Jokic family. The NBA superstar’s family took over in 2018 and the team has tasted success ever since. Interestingly, the team had organized an NBA Finals watch party in a local hall a few months ago. Safe to say, their local hero did not let them down as Jokic won his first NBA title.

Jokic’s huge popularity might have helped the team

Needless to mention, Nikola Jokic is a hugely popular figure in Serbia. Not only his home country, but the Nuggets superstar is now the most famous NBA athlete in the league.

A few months ago, when the Nuggets made their way to the NBA finals, he became the most popular NBA star with over 316 million views across social media platforms. He toppled years of LeBron James and Stephen Curry‘s dominance to earn the social media crown. This was a huge jump from 2022 when he was ranked number 18 despite winning the MVP award.

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What are your predictions for Nikola Jokic next season? Let us know in the comments below.