By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The saga between Markieff Morris and Nikola Jokic, as well as their respective brothers, made the trip around the world with the majority of people taking a stance, often choosing one side over the other. Former NBA player and Jokic’s fellow Serb Darko Milicic had an opinion of his own,a peculiar one.
“What else could Nikola expect when he comes to America, which has hundreds of millions, from a small country that does not have even 6,000,000 people? He comes, dominates and bullies them in basketball, becomes the best in the world? Similar to Novak in tennis… Of course you will bother some people and you will be their target,” Milicic told Mozzart Sport and commented on the Morris brothers further.
“It is obvious that they (the Morris brothers) are building their careers on incidents and provocations, as ‘dangerous guys’. They survive on that basis. But Nikola shouldn’t have allowed himself that, because they achieved what they wanted by provocation. Nikola was suspended. It is easy to condemn him, but one should be put into his skin, how much pressure he endures on and off the court. I guess it all accumulated for him, which is why he reacted that way. In any case, regardless of what happened, it is good that he immediately realized that he was not supposed to react like that.”
The involvement of Marcus and Jokic’s brothers (Strahinja and Nemanja) via social media sparked a meme train of who would come out on top in hypothetical. Milicic definitely has no doubts about that.
“God forbid that Strahinja and Nemanja get a hold of them. What they say, they mean. There are no calculations with them.”
Milicic also shared that, from his experience, rare are the players who would actually ‘back up their tough talk’.
“The NBA is a show. We can say whatever we want, where we come from… An epidemiological story that tries to be served as if they are all gangsters, can’t pass even with small children. All players are accomplished and earn at least enough. All that show (around fighting), it comes down to ‘I to you, you to me’, frowning… Those quasi-street threats are stereotyped. They didn’t mean anything to me. Nikola turned out naive, pushed him visibly. I’m not a scoundrel, but I didn’t see the desire for a showdown. A small percentage of players are ready for the showdown. You turn out to be naive if you get hooked, and in front of everyone. You turn out to be the culprit, regardless of the circumstances under which it happened.”