Winning an NBA championship — or a championship in any sport, really — allows athletes for an opportunity to reflect. While it seemed like Nikola Jokic’s number one priority in the aftermath of the Denver Nuggets’ win over the Miami Heat on Monday night to clinch the the first title in franchise history was to leave the country as soon as possible and return to Serbia, he did get the chance to reflect on things during a sit down with Malika Andrews of ESPN.
Andrews asked a pretty simple question: What does the guy who was drafted 41st overall in the 2014 NBA Draft and famously got selected while a Taco Bell commercial played think about the circumstances under which he entered the league now? Here’s what Jokic had to say about all that:
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 13, 2023
“They didn’t believe in the fat boy,” Jokic said. “It seems like it worked out. Don’t bet against the fat boy.”
Jokic, of course, came into the NBA with some optimism that he could be a good player based on his time in the Adriatic League, but there were major questions about whether he’d be able to keep up physically due to his frame and lack of foot speed. He, as it turns out, very much could.
