Nikola Jokic Feature Review
By Jason Jefferson
The feature story was written by Howard Beck for Bleacher Report Magazine.
Beck spent time with Nikola Jokic and his family in his house. This allowed him the opportunity to see a side of Jokic that many do not get to see. He paints Jokic and his brothers as a fun loving, competitive, and playful family. He highlights Jokic’s journey from a former second-round pick to the Denver Nuggets star player and current franchise piece.
From the feature, I learned more about the off-court presence of Jokic. Like most people, he loves to smile and make others smile too. He is an ultra-competitive person. His competitive nature drives him in everything he does, from pick up basketball to card games. Beck also noted of Jokic’s desire to own a racehorse as a kid. A childhood dream now fulfilled as an NBA star with millions of dollars.
Interestingly, Jokic prefers the peace and relative solitude of a horse stable. Jokic finds grooming, feeding the horses and shoveling out their stalls to be his happy place. He couldn’t care less for the fame.
The story also focuses on the relationship Jokic developed with Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. Malone cultivated this strong relationship by spending a week with Jokic and his family. This gave coach Malone a chance to truly learn the ins-and-outs of his star player.
The feature did a great job giving an in-depth perspective the life of Jokic. However, I wish the story would have covered how this has helped him progress as a player. Connecting his outside life to why he is so dominate on the court would have painted a fuller story for me.
