By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The story was already well-known in Europe and after his longtime agent Misko Raznatovic presented it to the “Extra Smoke” YouTube show, it became known to the US.
Playing in Sombor, teenage Jokic was under the radar even in Serbia and his amazing stats, printed in the local newspaper on a little column made Raznatovic notice him.
And this story is also totally ironic. Stats permitted the most successful agent in Europe to notice Jokic and at the same time, it’s more than obvious that stats are the last thing that currently interests Jokic, even if he was accused without any real reason about stat-padding.
Meanwhile, Jokic is a marketing department nightmare. The notorious “Joker” nickname was given to him by accident when Mike Miller, his teammate at the time, had difficulties pronouncing his name. So he just called him Joker.
Jokic’s personality doesn’t have anything to do with the iconic Batman villain, but the nickname is still in use because nobody had a better idea and the Serbian center is simply not into those things.
He is into horses, Serbian folk music, and winning.
And here comes the really interesting part. Out of the top three European stars of the NBA, Jokic has a less interesting background story.
In Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic’s cases, their on-court genius is backed up by interesting off-court narratives.
Luka Doncic is a basketball prodigy, destined for greatness, groomed in Real Madrid, and doubted even in the NBA Draft before taking the league by storm.
Giannis grew up in Greece as an illegal immigrant, being stateless until he reached 18 years of age and ended up becoming an NBA champion, having already his life made into a movie.
Jokic is… well, an amazing basketball player who worked, grew his game and he is on the verge of winning the title, doing everything the right way. A two-time MVP who has three straight phenomenal seasons and probably the best playoffs run in history by the numbers.
That brings things full circle.
Jokic hates talking about stats and doesn’t really care about numbers, because they are just a by-product of his unique basketball qualities. He is not super-athletic, but he is in his best condition ever, clearly a top performer with notable endurance and also a basketball IQ off the charts.
That’s why Jokic winning the championship title will be a triumph for the game of basketball. Jokic doesn’t jump higher than others, doesn’t run faster than others, and doesn’t dunk with his elbow.
However, he is always making the right play, giving what his team needs, and – pretty much like Giannis did during the Bucks championship run – he is there in crunch time.
He is first and foremost a basketball player with a unique feel for the game and secondly an athlete. And ultimately basketball is a sport that rewards not only athletic abilities but also team chemistry, grit, and wit.
Jokic has it all and that may be the only thing that backs up the “Joker” nickname. The joke is on those who underestimated his game just by looking at his athletic abilities and – how was that possible? – ignoring the stats.