Nikola Jokic is now considered one of the greatest players the league has ever seen, but just like any other NBA player, he was once just a young rookie looking to get his feet wet in the league.
In his interview with Basketball Sphere, Jokic revealed the three NBA players who helped him during the early part of his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets.
Those three players are Wilson Chandler, Jameer Nelson, and Mike Miller.
“It helps when you have someone to show you the ropes. When I arrived in the NBA, I had guys like Wilson Chandler and Jameer Nelson,” he said. “I remember all of them… There was a whole group of them—Mike Miller was there too, though he was a bit older by then.”
“Mike Miller was there too, although he was already a little older at the time.
Coming into the NBA with little expectations, Jokic began his career with the Nuggets in the 2015-2016 season after being drafted 41st overall in 2014.
Aside from Wilson, Nelson, and Miller, among Jokic’s teammates are Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton, Kenneth Faried, Emmanuel Mudiay, Gary Harris, Randy Foye and Jusuf Nurkic.
Nuggets Veterans Gave Nikola Jokic Blueprint For NBA Career
Wilson Chandler, Mike Miller, and Jameer Nelson served as the veteran core for the Denver Nuggets during the mid-2010s as the franchise transitioned into the Nikola Jokic era.
Chandler was with the Nuggets from 2011 to 2018, while Nelson spent two years in Denver from 2015 to 2017. Miller also played for the Nuggets from 2015 to 2017.
Jokic said that his veterans gave him a blueprint on what it takes to be great in the NBA.
“They were in the gym every single day. Whether it was shooting drills, weight training, or something else. They had that mindset—showing up and getting to work.”
“I had really good role models to look up to, so if you need to, you just copy them—you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You just copy what they do, and over the years, you’ll develop your own routine, your own path—whatever works best for you.
“To this day, I remember—out of, say, 300 days, I’d be in the gym for 295 of them. Hats off to them—nothing but respect.”
Jokic is already cemented as one of the greatest centers and passers in NBA history, boasting three MVP awards and a championship ring from 2023.
Nikola Jokic Gets Annoyed About His Popularity
Nikola Jokic also opened up about how popularity has affected him over the past year. In the same interview, he said that he sometimes gets annoyed by the popularity.
“I miss it so much. I’m getting more and more bothered by popularity,” Jokic said. “This is going to sound corny, but, I’m getting ruder to people who approach me. Honestly, it’s tiring…Some people around me know, I don’t take pictures because it’s my time. I’ll sound rude again, but what can I do? If people can’t understand me, I understand everything, but it’s been 11-12 years and enough is enough. I feel better when someone tells me something, like you come to the zoo and take a picture of something.”
Jokic has become the face of the Nuggets and is the centerpiece of the team over the last decade.
His popularity will certainly keep growing because of his greatness.
Nevertheless, Jokic has a shot at another NBA championship next season alongside Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and newly acquired former All-Star DeMar DeRozan.
For now, he gets to spend time in his home country Serbia, before travelling to Denver for their training camp for the upcoming NBA season.
Nikola Jokic Reveals the Three NBA Veterans Who Helped Shape His Career