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Ugly yet Beautiful: How Nikola Jokic is just casually stumbling into greatness

Swati Bhatia

Ugly? Maybe. Beautiful? Absolutely.

Watching Nikola Jokic play basketball is like watching a middle-aged accountant absolutely cook in a weekend recreational league. He jogs up the floor like he just got done with a 9-to-5 shift, his jump shot looks like he is tossing a backpack over a fence, and his passing? Well, that part is actually art. But let’s be real, everything else about Jokic on a basketball court feels like it shouldn’t work. And yet, here he is, stacking up incredible numbers season after season, game after game.

It started when he was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial (he hasn’t forgotten about it btw!). The Denver Nuggets took him 41st overall in 2014, and at that moment, the basketball world had no idea what was coming. He looked more like a guy who should be debating whether to get an extra chicken wing rather than leading an NBA franchise. But as it turns out, a dad bod and an “I don’t give a f**k” attitude are not obstacles to greatness.

Just Like That

Jokic isn’t just good; he is historically, absurdly, unbelievably good. This season alone, he hit just a casual 66-foot buzzer-beater, nonchalantly became the first player in NBA history to record a 30-20-20 game, and while moving sluggishly, became the fastest player to reach 15,000 points, 7,500 rebounds and 5,000 assists.

Just like that.

Despite all of this, Jokic approaches basketball with the energy of a guy who is just happy to be there. He answers questions in interviews like he is being forced to do it, often showing more enthusiasm discussing horses than basketball. He treats regular-season games like a casual Tuesday run, then turns into a basketball supercomputer when it matters most.

He is currently in a neck-and-neck MVP race with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, gunning for his fourth MVP in five years. If he pulls it off, he will join a club with names like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlin. But the most ridiculous part? He will probably shrug, mutter something about just trying to help the team, and go back to playing with his horses in Serbia during the offseason.

Ugly? Maybe. Beautiful? Absolutely. The Nikola Jokic Experience is unlike anything we have ever seen, and somehow, it just keeps getting better.

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I work as a content strategist, specializing in creating engaging content about the NBA, WNBA, and MLB. My main focus is on writing breaking news updates, research-based articles, and covering trending topics. Right now, I’m leading the content team for the NBA, WNBA, and MLB categories at Playoffs English.

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