If you ask just about any professional basketball player, they’d probably tell you that winning an NBA championship is one of the best things in the world. It’s definitely not easy for a team to battle its way through the postseason and ultimately claim the highly coveted Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. The latest squad to do just that was the Denver Nuggets, who clinched the title by winning Game 5 of their series with the Miami Heat on Monday night. Star player Nikola Jokić took in the festivities just like his teammates, though fans across social media couldn’t help but notice (and joke about) his lack of enthusiasm.
There’s a firm chance that b-ball devotees have seen plenty of footage from past Finals celebrations that show athletes getting emotional. From Michael Jordan crying while clinching the trophy to Kevin Garnett yelling “anything is possible” during a post-game interview, there have been plenty of memorable moments. Needless to say, the always dominant Nikola Jokić was a bit more reserved. In fact, when speaking shortly after the game, he summed things up by saying, “The job is done, we can go home now.” That desire to head back to his native home of Serbia came up again during the Game 5 press conference. And the exact moment, which was captured on Twitter, was as funny as it was honest:
Poor Nikola Jokic just wants to go home to Serbia and they made him win a whole NBA Championship and now he has to go to a parade. pic.twitter.com/ZvpR3hLYj8June 13, 2023
The championship parade has been a tradition for quite some time, but the two-time league MVP doesn’t seem all that eager about partaking in it. Of course, he’s not looking down on the event – he simply wants to head home. Nevertheless, a number of social media users, including the curator for BetMGM couldn’t help but joke about his apparent desire to bypass the motorcade:
The Nuggets: “We’re gonna have a blast at the parade on Thursday!”Nikola Jokic: pic.twitter.com/2nzN93rqkfJune 13, 2023
The parade aside, there are plenty of other hallmarks that come with the NBA Finals experience, including the customary champagne showers that happen in a team’s locker room. Plenty of Denver Nuggets seemed to be having the time of their lives while popping bottles, while the 28-year-old big man, who also won Finals MVP, seemed to do so awkwardly:
Nikola Jokic has no idea what to do with champagne, I'm dying (r @bansky) pic.twitter.com/dkaiQoytw8June 13, 2023
Many young people dream of winning a championship, and those aspirations don’t exactly change when one enters the league. In fact, NBA player Alex Caruso was so set on getting a title that he constantly watched The Last Dance (which is streamable with a Netflix subscription) in early 2020 just to take in the feeling. That was months before his former team, the Lakers, ultimately went to The Finals and achieved that goal. Nikola Jokić didn’t seem completely underwhelmed, mind you, but one fan seemed to some up his approach to the win pretty perfectly:
nikola jokic on winning his first nba championship: pic.twitter.com/l9UJPjaCAbJune 13, 2023
In short, it seems like the big man is just ready for some well-deserved time away from the game. Another social media user summed that up perfectly with two images featuring The Office’s Stanley Hudson:
Nikola Jokic Nikola Jokicwhen he wins when he getsa ring to go home pic.twitter.com/mjjw7w5LQoJune 13, 2023
It would honestly be great if the athlete would be able to respond to these messages as part of the Finals edition of Jimmy Kimmel’s Mean Tweets segment. (Though of course, that’s not possible due to the ongoing writers strike.) But anyways, I’’d like to believe that Nikola Jokić is pleased that he was able to lead the Denver Nuggets to its first title in franchise history. Jokić has made quite a name for himself and, if he continues on this path, he could certainly become one of the heavily discussed NBA GOATs by the time his career is done. In the process, he might even land in the hall of fame. We probably shouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves, though. If anything, let’s just let Jokić celebrate the way he wants to.
Those who are already missing the NBA season and want some championship-laden basketball content can check out the aforementioned The Last Dance as well as Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers, which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription.
