Nikola Jokic loves playing basketball.
However, Jokic has no use for fame and the trappings that come with being an MVP and NBA champion. He’s doing commercials, and he will cash those massive checks, but he also could walk away from the fame and be fine. Jokic was channeling his inner Tim Duncan and said as much on Michael Porter Jr.'s new “Curious Mike” podcast (hat tip Basektnews).
“End of the day, we are just basketball players, you know. So we are just good at what we are doing, but the media is something that is around us, and of course, we’re getting paid because of the media, because of popularity. Being famous, I think some people like it. I don’t, really. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me, and I really wish my kid or kids in the future really remember me as a dad, not as a basketball player.”
Jokic also talked about his post-basketball goals.
“To not have [a] phone, I think that’s another big goal of mine.To live in the moment like you said, like being a normal person, like go drink with your buddy or go have lunch or go play with the kid or go ride horses and nobody’s going to make a big deal of that.”
And own/train horses. You know that was in there.
There are more guys in the NBA and high-level basketball than people realize who are more about the lifestyle than the game — they won’t say it on the record, but what drives their time in the gym and focus on the craft is the paychecks and NBA lifestyle. There’s nothing wrong with this, we’re all motivated by money at some level. None of us are doing our jobs for free. Most players love the game, but the money also motivates them. Understandably.
Jokic is different in he doesn’t have much use for the fame that segments of society venerate. Some people mistake that as him not having a passion for the game, but he has a much healthier perspective on all of this. He’s an entertainer and one very good at his job. When he’s done, he will walk away and try to blend in (as much as a 7-footer can). It may not be as easy as he hopes, but he will try.
