Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has earned generational wealth in his time in the NBA, but he still hilariously refuses to repay a small debt he owes. Jokic appeared on Edin Avdic’s X&O’s Chat podcast, where he revealed he has owed former NBA player Ratko Varda €50 for about 14 years now.
“Rale, I always like to mention him because he’s a phenomenal personality,” Jokic said. “… Always ready to help you and everything. I always say, I still owe him €50 because I didn’t have money to go home, and I was crying too. And he was like, ‘Here, go home,’ and gave me €50 so I can get home. And I remember that to this day, and I’m grateful for it, 13-14 years later. But I never paid him back, and I probably never will.”
Avdic hilariously stated that a debt between friends is a bad thing, and Jokic agreed. As for where he crossed paths with Varda, it was at Mega Vizura (now called KK Mega Basket), a team based in Belgrade, Serbia.
Jokic joined the team in 2012 and signed his first professional contract with them in February 2013. A few months later, in July 2013, Varda would sign with them as well. The two spent only one season together as teammates, but the veteran still managed to make a big impact on the youngster.
Jokic spoke here about how important it is for youngsters to have good veterans to learn from. He is grateful that he had the likes of Varda, Boban Marjanovic, Novica Velickovic, Nenad Sulovic, Marko Keselj, and Dejan Musli as role models to follow when he was at Mega.
Varda and Marjanovic are the only ones among this group to make it to the NBA. While the latter spent nine seasons in the league and became a fan favorite, the former only ever played one game.
Varda went undrafted in 2001 but was later signed by the Detroit Pistons as a free agent. He made that lone appearance in a 99-71 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 12, 2002, and put up five points (2-3 FG) and one rebound.
The Pistons traded Varda to the Washington Wizards in September 2002, and he’d get waived in December. He’d return to Europe after that and eventually crossed paths with Jokic.
Like Varda, Jokic wasn’t exactly supposed to have an incredible NBA career. The Nuggets selected him with the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and famously, a Taco Bell commercial was playing when it happened. Jokic also revealed he was sleeping during the draft and was woken up by his brother, who was living in New York at the time. Back then, he wasn’t thinking he’d be competing with these guys one day.
Jokic would only end up going to the U.S. in 2015, and by the end of the decade, he had emerged as one of the best players in the NBA. The 31-year-old has now won one NBA title, one Finals MVP, and three MVPs, and is widely regarded as the best player in the game.
Being at the top for this long has led to Jokic amassing a fortune. According to Spotrac, he will have made $304 million in salaries by the end of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Jokic can pretty much get whatever he wants today, but that wasn’t the case when he was getting into the league, of course. He wasn’t swimming in cash, and so what did he buy when he finally got that first NBA paycheck? Well, the answer should surprise absolutely no one.
“A horse, Dreamcatcher,” Jokic stated. “… And then I paid off the Toyota I had back in Mega.”
Classic Jokic. He loves his horses.
Jokic does love basketball a lot, too, although you might not think that. He doesn’t quite show the same emotion when he plays as when his horse wins a race, but he loves the game and is passionate about it. You don’t get this good without caring.
