NBA stars in the olden days were known for appearing professional and stoic. In the 60s and 70s, it was hard for a lot of the athletes to be themselves, with many like Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar having to fight against racism. The 90s were about professionalism, with John Salley revealing how the Bulls had to dress, for example.
The era of self-expression came around with Allen Iverson in the early 2000s, and after some early backlash, it changed NBA culture and became the norm. Social media erupting in recent years took it to a whole another level, and players are now doing more off the court than ever before. And while in the past, that content would be competitive or edgy, it’s the goofiness that has become quite popular in recent times.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the perfect example of this, his dad jokes have fans either tearing their hair out or laughing their heads off. He is arguably the best player in the world, and his idea of a celebration is getting chicken nuggets. The now two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is no different, it would seem, recently doing a skit where he told some lame jokes of his own.
Nikola Jokic is too funny 😂
(via @nuggets) pic.twitter.com/EgCN2JKlWB
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 16, 2022
“Why can’t you give Elsa a balloon? Elsa from Frozen. Because she will let it go.
“How do you make a tissue dance? Anyone? You put a little boogie in it.
“What do you call a pig that does karate? A pork chop.
“Why do bees have sticky hair? Because they use honeycombs.
“How did the barber win the race? He knows the shortcut.”
Jokic had a few more locked and loaded, the sort of jokes that produce as many eye-rolls as they do laughs. The Serbian is known to be fun-loving, and this is another example of how he is. It’s an interesting commentary on the times that this is what MVPs do in terms of media content, and it should be fun to see how that demeanor changes in the coming years.
