As the season’s leading MVP candidate, Nikola Jokic is showing out, averaging 26.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game on 56.8% shooting.
And while we all know how good he has become, his journey to the league wasn’t so easy, and it was far from typical.
In a chat with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, The Joker talked about his transition to the NBA, admitting to sleeping during draft night and even how poorly conditioned he was to deal with his new surroundings.
“I mean, when I first started playing basketball back home in Serbia, I literally couldn’t do a pushup. Then I came here with probably the worst-conditioned body in the NBA.”
He also admitted to drinking a gallon of Coca-Cola a day.
(start at 2:28)
A conversation with Nikola Jokic on his journey from being the 41st pick in the draft with – in his words – "the worst-conditioned body in the NBA," to the favorite to win MVP. Plus: the origins of his signature moves & how he still misses drinking a gallon(!) of Coca-Cola a day: pic.twitter.com/s0ZatTdUOE
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 1, 2021
Nikola Jokic is far from your typical NBA star. He was out of shape, in his own world, and still relatively new to the game of basketball.
But once he made it to the league, he got serious about his game, eventually focusing on conditioning his body and honing his skill set to become one o the best in the game.
Considering where he has elevated the Nuggets this year, it’s safe to say his road has lead to victory. We’ll see if the same can be said for Denver’s 2021 playoff run
