Before Nikola Jokic‘s generous gesture, it was Carmelo Anthony! The Denver Nuggets legend truly went the extra mile for his former teammates. One would believe he must have been joking when he promised to buy an expensive gift from a Swiss brand to motivate his then-squad. Turns out, his unique gesture worked. While he tried his best to go back on his words, Melo ultimately kept his word.

After getting his first Rolex, Melo felt confident and had an even more interesting idea to fuel his and the team’s growth. He promised to buy a Rolex watch for all his teammates if the Nuggets reached the playoffs in 2004. And the team kept on winning game after game.

However, he began pretending not to remember the promise. The 10x NBA All-Star tried to save himself, but he was happy that the team made such improvements. In the end, he had to buy them the watches.

In a conversation with UBS at the House of Craft, the avid collector said, “If we make the playoffs, I get everybody a Rolex and it came down to the last game of the season so we wound up winning the game and making it to the playoffs so I tried to scoot on by like I didn’t know like I forgot but I had to deliver 12 Rolexes to my team. But it was worth it.”  

To his surprise, the team made it to the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Averaging 21 points, the Knicks legend was also selected for the All-Rookie First Team. Unfortunately, the New York Knicks were defeated by the New Jersey Nets eventually.

During the interview, he shared that he had gone to a showroom and asked to see watches within a budget that he wanted to spend on his teammates. It seems word of this reached Nuggets star No. 15 as well, who made a similar promise to his team. Just like the NBA legend, the 6x NBA All-Star kept his word.

Nikola Jokic spends $375,500 on teammates 

Jokic went all out to motivate his teammates, surprising them with a six-figure gesture. Apparently, Jokic had promised to buy his team Rolex watches if they won over the USBMNT in the Paris Summer Games. While they took home the bronze after a tough loss to the USA.

Serbia met the USA in the knockout Semi Finals played at the Bercy Arena only to lose by a close 95-91 margin. In the showdown, it felt like the game was under Serbia’s dominance from the beginning. However, Team USA showed up in the final quarter to advance the opponents. In the matchup, Joker made 17 points on 41% shooting from the field but made 0 of his 6 attempts from beyond the arc. He also helped the team with 5 rebounds and 11 assists but had to settle for a bronze, winning 93-83 over the Germans.

“It was a good match. Probably the biggest defeat of my career. [We had a] big chance. In the end, they beat us. People from the stands will probably see it as a normal defeat, but for those who played, it was certainly one of the toughest defeats in our careers,” the Denver Nuggets star Jokić said to Eurohoops after the loss. Regardless, the bronze accomplishment was enough to celebrate.

He gifted each of his Olympic teammates a Cosmograph Daytona watch. This piece was valued at $32,500, bringing the total to a staggering $357,000. Certainly, Jokic’s gesture was quite grand. The Serbian player boasts an estimated net worth of $80 million, he is currently on a five-year contract worth more than $250 million. Furthermore, he has secured lucrative endorsement deals with brands like Western Union, Panini, and Nike. It will be safe to consider these two gestures as one of the most expensive motivations.