Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic officially made history on Tuesday by becoming the lowest draft pick ever to win MVP. It was truly a special moment for a player that was selected 41st overall in 2014 and frankly, the Joker never even expected this moment.
During his speech after winning the award, the Nuggets star offered a word of advice to other aspiring bigs who eventually want to make their mark in the Association, per Harrison Wind:
Nikola Jokic's message to young big men: "Play the game. Just enjoy it. Because at that moment I never thought I'm gonna do something big in basketball. I was just trying to play. Just play and enjoy the game if you love it. If you don’t love it, find something that you love."
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) June 9, 2021
It's all about passion.
In case you didn't see Jokic talk about actually capturing MVP, he wasn't even that thrilled. The number one goal for him continues to be winning a championship, which stands to reason.
But, Jokic surely was deserving. He has a tremendous campaign for the Nuggets, averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists while basically carrying the team after Jamal Murray went down with a season-ending injury.
He has defied all the odds. His Nuggets are still fighting hard in the playoffs too as they head into Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns. While Monty Williams' team did a good job of containing Nikola Jokic to 22 points in the series opener, the Joker will be looking for a bounce-back performance as Denver looks to even up the series at one.
