The true value of Nikola Jokic

Valuable.
val·u·a·ble

/ˈvaly(əw)əb(ə)l/

adjective: extremely useful or important. worth a great deal
noun: a thing that is of great worth

This year’s NBA MVP was about as enthusiastic about his award as Commissioner Adam Silver had been about the All-Star Game’s outcome. 2024 MVP Nikola Jokic didn’t jump any higher for his accolade than he does for his typical rebound.

Not because he’s gotten bored with the award, or to be more accurate, not that he’s gotten any more bored with it. It simply doesn’t hold the meaning to him that it might to others who would even go so far as to (koff) campaign for the award. So to even hear in real time that others felt he was underserving simply didn’t phase him. Because those opinions, even the happy ones that lift him up to these lofty heights, are not the things that matter most to him. What matters to him are the love, trust, and regard of those closest to him. His nearest and dearest. Knowing this, the Nuggets put together a video narrated by his very nearest and dearest, his wife Natalija… with an little help at the end from nearest and dearest-also, daughter Ognjena.

If you have already seen, or didn’t care to watch, here’s what Natalija has to say, on behalf of so many…

How the unlikely became likely

Nikola Jokic. To others, an unmatched talent. To us, an unselfish family man. Outsiders may see him as unconventional or unorthodox. But we have always seen him as UNBELIEVABLE. It may be unlikely that a proud Serbian, drafted as the overlooked 41st pick, would achieve a status only a few have reached. But when you play your cards right, anything is likely. Behind the scars and the smile lies the work, lies the belief, that you will be great. And we will always believe in our now three-time MVP. We love you, Nikola. (We love you, Daddy).

Even the usually stoic Nikola had a tough time keeping back tears on that one. Rare to see him in such a state.

But in this mile-high state, we will take our Joker any way we can get him. He may decide to forgo the MVP award from here, if he isn’t able to win a championship this year, noting his ring came when the accolades (hilariously) didn’t. He may win even more most-valuable awards. Or more championship trophies. He may give it all up to race horses. All he seems to truly care about is playing the game of basketball at the highest level, with his friends and family. Family of blood shared from his parents and some from blood he’s shared on the court. His brothers, all. The rest will fall where it may.

With this third MVP, Joker joins a list of names in rarified air. Russell, Wilt, Kareem, MJ, LeBron, Moses, Bird, and Magic are the rest of that club, and most all of them talents groomed from a very young age. Each pulled into the league with a wealth of expectation, and amongst the few to exceed those heavy burdens placed on so many. Conversely, Jokic’s ascension came from so far beyond anyone’s imagination as to be shocking. So shocking that many folks still simply won’t get on board, and understandably so.

With a personality as unique and tangential as a Mark Fidrych or Bill Walton, it’s understandable Jokic is a tough sell to most. On and off the court, you have to stick around long enough to get in on the joke with the Joker, or he’s about as romantic a notion as as a root canal. But once you have started buying a little of what he’s selling, you start to understand the intrinsic value of what this attitude can bring on so many levels. How selflessness can actually mesh with talent and drive. How “we” are always always always better than “me”. How giving isn’t just better than receiving, it’s actually its own version of receiving as well.

With that attitude, Nikola Jokic has lifted his family. And then his teammates. And then his teams. And then his organizations. And then his cities. So many of his cities. Sombor and Denver. Belgrade and Boulder. Kraljevo and Kit Carson. And along the way has lifted his country, and a whole lot of basketball fans wherever they may be. That weird combination of genius, talent, a giant heart, and a pathological allergy to attention has somehow lifted us all who are on the Jokic Bus to a place we hadn’t been before this, whether the Nuggets ever win another ring. How many people have been a part of giving you something so precious?

To put it another way, and as Natalija so succinctly said… We love you, Nikola.

What could be more valuable than that?