NBA game insider|Accompany your girlfriend to read and play NBA by the way? You may not know how Jokic succeeds
In the summer of 2015, a Serbian boy came to the United States alone to visit his girlfriend who was attending college in Oklahoma, and he joined the Nuggets. In the words of fans, Jokic is just to go to the United States to accompany his girlfriend to study, and by the way, play NBA. The husband is not arguing, so the world cannot fight with it, which should be Jokic's way of success.
In the 2014 NBA Draft, Jokic was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 41st overall pick in the second round. The selection of this pick shows that Jokic has mediocre talent, but he has become the most successful second-round pick in history, and the surprises he brings us will continue.
In the 2023 Finals G5, the Nuggets narrowly defeated the Heat 94-89 and won the championship of the season with a big score of 4-1. Jokic averaged 30.2 points, 14 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game and was unanimously named the Finals MVP with 11 votes without any suspense.
Championships and FMVPs are honors that many NBA players don't pursue in their lifetimes, but Jokic seems calm at the moment. Teammates Porter and Ori wept with joy, Jokic's wife cheered with excitement, and Jokic's two older brothers picked up Malone and raised him high, and Malone drank champagne during the interview. Everyone around Jokic was excited, but Jokic was at a standstill.
Jokic doesn't even value the FMVP trophy. In the final group photo, Jokic held his daughter at the end, while Malone, who sat in the C position, held the FMVP trophy for Jokic. Perhaps in Jokic's mind, his daughter is the most important trophy in his life.
When it comes to Jokic, Embiid has to be mentioned. Embiid said in an interview with Shams this season, "I'm not a two-time MVP winner, I'm not named to the All-NBA team, I haven't won anything. So when some people have won two MVPs, multiple MVPs, and haven't achieved anything like me, why should I be pressured to do this?
It's clear that Embiid's remarks are alluding to Jokic, who has won two MVPs but not a championship. In fact, Jokic was at the top of the MVP ranking this season when Embiid said this, and the media at the time believed that the only obstacle to his 3-game MVP was aesthetic fatigue.
But then Jokic voluntarily gave up the MVP race, he began to rotate, and the Nuggets' record fell with it, and Embiid finally got his first MVP of his career. And Jokic understands that no matter how many individual accolades you get, if you don't win the championship, it's all for nothing. So he put all his focus into the playoffs, and he understands that only a championship can prove everything.
It was his behavior of not competing for MVP that allowed him to win championships and FMVPs. Just as the so-called loss of Sang Yu, reap the east, Jokic exchanged small losses for big gains. Jokic has won two regular-season MVPs, a Western Conference finals MVP, a championship and an FMVP, and the media has defined Jokic as the first player in the NBA.
The calmness in the face of great honors is due to Jokic's character. I think he cares more about something, and that's family. During the playoffs, a reporter asked Jokic whether he came to the United States to play the NBA or to accompany his girlfriend? Jokic replied: "I don't know, I didn't think I would go into the NBA at the time, but it's all connected. My family and I can get together in the U.S., and that's a good thing for us. My wife, who was also my girlfriend at the time, was in college in Oklahoma, and we were both separated for 6 or 7 months, and I can't remember exactly. I never thought I'd be able to play in the NBA, and I didn't know she would be my wife in the future, and we were together from day one.
When Jokic received his first MVP trophy, he said that at least in our family, Natalia was the MVP, and I always said that she gave too much for her daughter and the whole family.
Jokic's other hobby is horses, and he once received the MVP trophy in a carriage in the stable. In an interview before the G5 finals, Jokic said that after winning the championship, I will buy another horse, even if I don't win the championship.
It can be seen that Jokic's calmness at the award ceremony is because he really doesn't care about this, he cares about his family and his horse. In his mind, those two things are much more important than the championship and the FMVP trophy, and those are the values of Jokic, a winner in life.
Finally, let's take a look at the miracles set by Jokic in this Finals: averaging 30 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists per game, shooting 55/46/80% from three-field range, 4-2 victory over Durant and Booker in the series, 4-0 victory over James and Davis in the series, 4-1 victory over Butler and Adebayo in the Finals, the first in the history of total triple-doubles in the playoffs, the first in the history of total assists center, the first in the history of the finals 30+20+10 in a single game, the most valuable player in the finals, FMVP, the first center since O'Neill in 2002.