Nikola Jokić ( ; ; born February 19, 1995) is a Serbian professional basketball player who is a center for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Joker", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.Multiple sources: Jokić is an eight-time NBA All-Star, eight-time All-NBA Team member (including six first-team selections) and a three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He represents the Serbian national team, with which he won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Often considered the greatest draft steal in NBA history,Multiple sources: Jokić was selected 41st overall by the Nuggets in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2016. In the 2018–19 NBA season, while leading the Nuggets to the Western Conference Semifinals, Jokić earned his first All-Star and All-NBA First Team selections. The following season, he led the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals. In the 2020–21 NBA season and 2021–22 NBA season, Jokić won back-to-back NBA Most Valuable Player Awards. In the 2022–23 NBA season, he finished second in MVP voting and was named NBA Finals MVP after leading the Nuggets to their first-ever NBA championship. The following season, Jokić won his third NBA Most Valuable Player Award. In the 2024–25 NBA season, he finished second in MVP voting while averaging a triple-double with 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game. The following season, Jokić averaged a triple-double for a second consecutive year with 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game, finishing second in MVP voting again. He also became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists per game in the same season.
Jokić is only the third player in NBA history to finish top 2 in MVP voting for six straight years. He is only the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double in a season and only the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double in multiple seasons. Jokić is second all-time among NBA players with the most triple-doubles and holds the record for the fastest triple-double (achieved in 14 minutes and 33 seconds). He is the only NBA player ever to achieve a 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 20+ assists game. Jokić is the lowest drafted player to win either the NBA Most Valuable Player Award or the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.
Early life and education Jokić was born in the city of Sombor in the northern part of Serbia. He grew up in a two-bedroom apartment that housed him, his two brothers, parents, and grandmother. He attended Dositej Obradović Primary School. His father was an agricultural engineer. Jokić developed a love of basketball early in his life playing with his two older brothers, Strahinja and Nemanja, who were a decade older. Both brothers played basketball in Serbia with Nemanja later playing college basketball for Detroit Mercy and C.W. Post and for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Steamers in the Premier Basketball League. The brothers are friends with former NBA player Darko Miličić. Jokić also loved harness racing as a child and competed as an amateur, a passion that he still has today.
Professional career Mega Basket (2012–2015) Jokić played youth basketball for Vojvodina Srbijagas, drawing attention when he had achieved a total index rating greater than 50 in two consecutive games. In December 2012, Jokić signed a contract with Mega Vizura, although in the first season with the team he played mostly for their junior team in 2012–13. At the age of 17, Jokić appeared in five games of the Serbian League and averaged 1.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game. In February 2013, he officially signed a four-year contract with the team.
In the 2013–14 season, Jokić saw more minutes on the court for the senior team. Over 25 Adriatic League games, he averaged 11.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Jokić also played 13 games with the team in the Serbian League and had similar production, averaging 10.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.
2014–15 season: ABA League MVP and rebounding title On June 26, 2014, Jokić was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. On the ESPN telecast, his selection was announced on a news ticker near the bottom of the screen and was famously overshadowed by a Taco Bell commercial which aired above it simultaneously. In the first game of the Adriatic League, Jokić led his team to a 103–98 victory over MZT Skopje, by scoring 27 points and grabbing 15 rebounds for a total index rating of 44. On November 3, Jokić recorded 17 points, 12 rebounds and season-high eight assists for a total index rating of 40, in a 90–84 victory over Zadar. On February 7, 2015, he scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in an 88–77 loss to Szolnoki Olaj. On March 21, Jokić scored a season-high 28 points and added 15 rebounds to help his team win 100–96 over Igokea. Although Mega Leks finished in 10th place in the Adriatic League, Jokić became one of the league's most valuable players.
On June 8, 2015, Jokić scored 23 points in a loss to Crvena Zvezda in the playoff semifinals of the Serbian League. He averaged 18.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in the Serbian League. In the 2014–15 ABA League, Jokić averaged 15.4 points, league-leading 9.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while leading the league with an index rating of 22. He was named MVP four times over the course of the season: for Round 1, Round 6, Round 21 Round 26 and was named MVP for February. On March 26, 2015, Jokić was officially named the Adriatic League regular season MVP. He was also named the ABA League Top Prospect for the 2014–15 season. On June 9, Jokić parted ways with the team to pursue an NBA career.
Denver Nuggets (2015–present)
2015–16 season: All-Rookie honors In the summer of 2015, Jokić joined the Denver Nuggets, one season after being drafted. On July 28, 2015, he signed a contract with the Nuggets after averaging 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds in five summer league games for the team. On November 18, Jokić had a then season-best game with 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 109–98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. On January 10, 2016, he recorded a then career-high nine assists in a 95–92 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. On February 1, he recorded career highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds in a 112–93 win over the Toronto Raptors. On April 8, Jokić set a new career high with 15 rebounds in a 102–98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. At the end of the season, he finished third in the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.
2016–17 season: Improving as a sophomore On October 29, 2016, Jokić recorded 23 points and a then career-high 17 rebounds in a 115–113 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. After starting the first eight games of the season, Jokić was moved to the bench on November 12. He remained coming off the bench for the next 14 games. During that stretch as a bench player, Jokić had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds in a 112–92 loss against the Dallas Mavericks on December 12. Three days later, he was reinserted into the starting lineup, and the Nuggets scored 132 points in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers with Jokić acting as the fulcrum of the offense, passing out of the high post and short rolling to the rim. Fans subsequently began referring to December 15 as "Jokmas" in celebration of the team's decision to build around Jokić rather than Jusuf Nurkić or first-round pick Emmanuel Mudiay. Jokić recorded a then career-high 11 assists in a 105–103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On January 16, 2017, he scored a then career-high 30 points in a 125–112 victory over the Orlando Magic. Jokić surpassed that mark three days later, scoring 35 points in a 118–104 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. On February 3, he recorded his first career triple-double with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a 121–117 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Exactly a week later, Jokić scored a then career-high 40 points to lead the Nuggets to a 131–123 victory over the New York Knicks. He went 17 of 23 from the field and added nine rebounds and five assists. On February 13, Jokić set career highs with 12 assists and 21 rebounds to go with 17 points in his second career triple-double in a 132–110 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
On February 28, 2017, Jokić recorded his third career triple-double with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in a 125–107 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The following night, he had his second straight triple-double and fourth of his career—all within 13 games. Jokić finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 110–98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 16, he recorded his fifth triple-double of the season with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 129–114 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. On March 31, Jokić recorded his sixth triple-double of the season with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 122–114 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He finished the season with a 29-point, 16-rebound, eight-assist effort in a 111–105 season-finale victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 12. Jokić's six triple-doubles ranked fourth on the season behind Russell Westbrook (42), James Harden (22), and LeBron James (13). At the end of the season, Jokić finished second in the 2017 NBA Most Improved Player Award voting, as well as in the 2017 Assist of the Year voting.
2017–18 season: Franchise player
On November 7, 2017, Jokić scored a then career-high 41 points in a 112–104 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Six days later, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from November 6 to November 12. Jokić became the 17th Nugget in franchise history to earn Player of the Week honors and the first since Ty Lawson in March 2013. Jokić had a seven-game absence with a left ankle sprain in early December. On January 8, 2018, he had his first triple-double of the season with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 124–114 loss to the Golden State Warriors. On February 15, in a 134–123 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, Jokić recorded 30 points, 15 rebounds and a then career-high 17 assists, reaching a triple-double with 1:54 remaining in the second quarter. He recorded the quickest triple-double in NBA history in 14 minutes and 33 seconds, besting Jim Tucker's previous record of 17 minutes from 1955. Eight days later, he recorded his third straight triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 122–119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
On March 15, Jokić recorded his eighth triple-double of the season with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 120–113 victory over the Detroit Pistons, thus setting the most triple-doubles by a Nuggets player in a season since Fat Lever had nine in 1988–89. On April 1, he had 35 points and 13 rebounds in a 128–125 overtime victory over the Bucks. Eight days later, he was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played from April 2 to April 8, thus earning his second Player of the Week nod for the season. Later that day, Jokić recorded 15 points, a season-best 20 rebounds, and 11 assists in an 88–82 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, thus securing his 16th career triple-double and his tenth of the season. In the Nuggets' regular season finale on April 11, Jokić recorded 35 points and 10 rebounds in a 112–106 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was his seventh 30-point game of the season. The loss ruled the Nuggets out of the playoffs with a 46–36 record. It was the first final-day play-in game in the NBA in 21 years, with Minnesota also vying for a spot in the playoffs.
2018–19 season: Breakout season, first All-Star and All-NBA appearances