Do we like Nikola Jokić?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Decent, low-drama and generous in quiet ways, with a 2018 fine for an anti-gay phrase and some hot-headed playoff moments to mark it down.
Jokić is a three-time MVP who led Denver to its first title in 2023. But the story he tells about himself starts in the stables. He says he moved to Sombor at 13 and was “a stable boy” at the horse track, and the love of harness racing never left him.
That horse thing is the heart of him. He co-owns a racing operation, tracks his horses daily, and in 2025 got visibly emotional when one of them won a race back in Serbia. For a bloke with trophies stacked to the ceiling, he seems happiest when his hometown still treats him like the kid who mucked out stalls.
Now the harm check. In 2018 the NBA fined him $25,000 for “derogatory and offensive language” after he used an anti-gay phrase in a post-game interview, and the report at the time said neither he nor the Nuggets had commented. That's a real mark, and it's the only one of its kind we found. We didn't find campaigning against anyone's rights, conspiracy talk, or any pattern of harmful company, so it's an asterisk rather than a fail.
The other blemishes are on the court. In April 2026 the NBA fined him $50,000 after saying he “initiated the incident by confronting and shoving” Jaden McDaniels in a playoff loss. He hasn't been suspended for that one, but it's part of a hot-headed streak that has also drawn league discipline in earlier seasons.
Off the court the record is quiet and kind. In 2020 he made a donation to the hospital in his hometown during the pandemic, and asked that the amount be kept secret. He's also known for turning down most endorsement razzle-dazzle and keeping his head down, which is rare for a superstar.
The recent news is mostly contract talk. After the season ended in a Game 6 loss to Minnesota, he said his desire is to play with the Nuggets for the rest of his career, though it's up to Denver what they offer. Loyalty over a bigger-market move is a nice change in a league that often runs on trade rumours.