By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic produced another historic performance to lead the Denver Nuggets to a comeback win, and after the game, he commented on their ability to recover from a 22-point deficit.
He used a particular Serbian word that doesn’t have a direct equivalent in English, but it conveys a sense of stubbornness, defiance, or determination, often in the face of adversity.
“When you’re losing by 20 points, that’s a matter of pride. You don’t want to be blown out, especially in front of your fans. There’s a Serbian word, hard to translate – ‘inat.’ I think there’s no translation for it. That happened at halftime,” Jokic said after the ninth win in the 10 games played since the All-Star break.
Do the Nuggets sometimes rely too much on offense, leading to a lack of defensive effort?
“I’m not sure; I believe we are a good defensive team. Usually, our defense is at a high level. When it’s a close game, we rely on our defense. Simply put, it was just one of those nights. They played aggressively, ran well in transition, and we were always a step behind, even lagging in communication during the first half.”
Last but not least – dinosaurs. The video of Nikola and his family’s visit to a Dinosaur park became viral, so the logical question was – What’s Jokic’s favorite dinosaur?
“Honestly, I forgot the names of the dinosaurs; they are hard to pronounce. The big one, that eats grass,” Nikola Jokic concluded the locker room interview in his fashion.