This year in the NBA was a coronation of Nikola Jokić, who led the Denver Nuggets to his first NBA championship and earned a Finals MVP.
But along with his sensational passes and relentless scoring, Jokić made headlines and went viral online for his disinterest in the pomp and circumstance around the NBA Finals. Some have wondered whether Jokic truly is as detached from the NBA circus as he seems or if it is an act.
During an interview with teammate Michael Porter Jr. on his podcast Curious Mike, released this week, Jokić gave his true thoughts on fame and celebrity in the United States and why his goal is for nobody to know who he is once he leaves the NBA behind.
“Being famous, some people like it, some people don’t,” Jokic said. “When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me. I wish my kid or kids in the future … remember me as a dad. I think that’s gonna be my goal in life.”
Jokić understands why NBA fans love the league’s star athletes and why connecting with those fans is important, but he believes it sometimes goes too far.
“I really don’t like this life because, at the end of the day, we are just basketball players,” Jokić explained. “We are just good at what we are doing. But the media is something that is around us, and of course, we are getting paid because of the media, because of our popularity.”
Jokić also doesn’t love the fan and media frenzy that follows him in public places as an NBA star.
“It just feels sad, whenever you go to the bar, restaurant, some game, people are just taking their phones out and trying to record you,” Jokić said. “I think that’s really, I’m going to say, rude. It’s not that I’m out showing myself; I’m just who I am.”
When he eventually retires, Jokić hopes to leave it all behind. While Jokić’s ranch life and love for horses may produce some funny viral moments, it’s clear that’s where the Serbian big man finds peace.
Jokić doesn’t just want to leave Western celebrity culture behind when he hangs it up, but ideally, modern technology altogether.
“To not have a phone, that’s another big goal of mine,” Jokić told Porter Jr. “Just to live in the moment, be a normal person. Go drink with your buddy or go have lunch or go play with your kids or go ride horses, and nobody’s going to make a big deal of that.”
It may seem alien to American sports fans to hear someone so disconnected and uncomfortable about celebrity status as an athlete. But with Jokić, it seems genuine.
The Denver Nuggets star loves competition and wants to be great. He has deep bonds with teammates and coaches and appreciates the opportunity to provide for his family by playing basketball. But he truly takes issue with how sports fans overdo it with their favorite athletes and seems alienated by how his greatness is consumed here.
