Nikola Jokic wasn't always known as “Joker.” It's a nickname that came to fruition once he got into the NBA. The Denver Nuggets star has never revealed exactly how he was given that nickname and hasn't spoken much about it. On Monday, former NBA shooting guard Mike Miller revealed how “Joker” came to be.

During a guest appearance on the “Podcast P with Paul George” podcast, Miller revealed that he was the one who gave Nikola Jokic the “Joker” nickname. He claims he couldn't pronounce Jokic's name smoothly enough when demanding that the ball be passed to him. So, he started calling the 30-year-old center “Joker” for short.

“I gave him the nickname ‘The Joker' because I couldn't say, ‘Jokic past the f****** ball.' So I said, ‘Joker, pass the ball.' His personality and the way he plays, he's like a joker. Every time I saw him, man, that's a joke. And I literally couldn't say Jokic fast enough to pass it. So, Joker was it.”

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Miller also credited Nikola Jokic for his work ethic in the gym, despite the memes online joking that the Nuggets' star doesn't care about playing basketball due to his demeanor. The former NBA guard admitted that the three-time MVP is one of the hardest-working individuals in the league and believes that's why he's one of the best players in the world.

“For real though, all that ‘he doesn't really care about basketball…' Talk about routines and habits, that man literally was [always there]. I was always the first one. He was literally there every single day at the same time, with the trainer Ogi in Denver. Doing the same thing every single day.”

Jokic's hard work has certainly paid off. Not only has he won the MVP award three times, but he's also a seven-time All-Star and led Denver to its first NBA championship in the 2022-23 season. The Nuggets will have a busy offseason, as the front office hopes to build a roster around Nikola Jokic to go on another potential title run.