ESPN NBA host Malika Andrews joins the Dan Patrick Show and discusses her recent interview with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, what he's like off the court, and how he eventually made his decision to come to the U.S.
Jokic is a paradigm of what to be in your life. Humble, grounded, not flexing and showing off, with values, not talking much. The absolute opposite of Ja and his Grizzlies. Now is time to rest and enjoy his family and horses. ALL WELL DONE NIKOLA!!!! LOVE AND RESPECT FROM YOUR BROS IN GREECE!!!
Finals Total Stats….Giannis 2021 vs Jokic 2023: Giannis: 35.2 PPG + 13.2 RPG + 5.0 APG + 1.2 SPG + 1.8 BPG - 2.3 TOV = 54.1 Jokic: 30.2 PPG + 14.0 RPG + 7.2 APG + 0.8 SPG + 1.4 BPG - 3.4 TOV = 50.2 On top of that, Jokic FG% for the Finals was 58.3% while Giannis’s FG% was 61.8%…yep!!! 61.8%. So to put it plainly, no one is even close to Giannis when it comes to overall stats in the NBA Finals for the last 50 years. BTW, both Giannis and Jokic are both 28 yrs old but Giannis is way ahead of Jokic when it comes to Career Achievements Total Achievements: (Titles,MVPs,Finals MVP,1st All-NBA,1st All-DEF): Giannis = 13 Jokic = 7 That’s just to put things into perspective
Btw that game where the Spanish scouts came to watch Jokic while he was in Mega, which Malika mentioned, is legendary in Serbia BCS there is a story about why he played bad. Clearly, he didn't mention it in the interview with Malika but the thing was Jokic's now wife went to study at college in the US so the Joker kind of "allegedly" decided to go to the NBA so that they could be together instead of going to Spain as his then club wanted. Thus-he played a terrible game and avoided going to Spain. He hinted at it one time for media in Serbia. Either way, the man is a legend and on his way to cementing himself as the best Euro player of all time.
I appreciate this interview a lot as a Denver Nuggets die hard fan. The extra stories about the Spanish league and about how Jokić played water polo for a while growing up weren’t news to me but I know I have not heard those stories come to light outside of the bubble of Colorado/Serbian sport’s culture. It was great to hear Malika speak so highly of Nikola after clearly holding a true knowledge about his personality. Thank you both!
It wasn't just any Spanish team, think it was Barcelona which is one of the biggest sport outfits in the world, frankly mostly due to their football club but still a huge club. I am glad he did not go there, cause they are also an ultimate douchbag club too.
He probably sabotaged that game. His then girlfriend now wife was studying in the US. He has stated one of the reasons to go to the NBA was to be with her.
I don't know if the Joker likes Taco Bell, but if he does he should 100% do an endorsement with them based on that moment because it would be hilarious.
Absolutely, and the ad should be about Taco Bell just about to win some restaurant of the year award, but cut to the Joker getting his MVP award, then cut back to Taco Bell walking off the stage :0)
Denver really loves and appreciates Malika. Lisa Salters would not have known the Sombor Shuffel or the Sombor Sling. So grateful Malika is (doing her job and) taking the time to get to know this generational player we love so much and sharing his story.
yea yeah! I was just thinking the same thing, what a knowledgeable well spoken and prepared young woman, she's very impressive and likeable....!! Kudos
seeing him in person, I believe it. the first pro football game I went to, just seeing the teams warm up, you realize how great these athletes really are, so seeing Jokic in the flesh, wow, must be incredible.
Kendrick Perkins: Jokic is a stat padder Fastest player in NBA history to record a triple double in a game in 14 minutes 33 seconds. What do you want him to do, ride the bench for the rest of the game?
It's a ridiculous criticism. Jokic is getting many assists which means that he is getting his teammates involved. Is it better when Lebron plays hero ball and forces multiple bad shots because he wants to be the highest scorer? Should we be praising players with lousy stats?
Kendrick played the race card and got more run than ever. Worked out good in the short term , but hurts in the long run cause you're viewed as a joke. No pun intended
Fastest slow player ...he is slow but incredible ... 🙃Perkins is ridiculous but i think he is doing it intentionally to increase the number of people watching the show...nothing personally, just business
In total seriousness, if players want to be better at basketball, I think the water polo thing would help. The sheer number of his crazy passes that people are like "Oh yeah that's something you see in water polo all the time" shows how the cross training could help dudes a lot.
@@RightlyDivide365 I’m not aware of anything like that. Please share an example or send me a link of anything like what you are stating. If so, I’ll remove my previous comment ASAP. All the best to you
Nikola had other priorities in life. Playing basketball is his job and he’s good at it but it’s not his passion. He enjoys playing it but it’s not everything. This is actually normal. I like him. He doesn’t like the spotlight or being on camera. But he understands it’s part of the job to be on tv and to go through all these interviews. His mentality is to go out and work. At the end of the day, he comes home to his family. He does live the American dream.
Nikola definitely had more than one meal a day back in the day. He put a stamp on his NBA legendary status. Now I can watch NBA without a worry on my mind. Relaxed.
Fun fact: just last year his menager hinted that Nikola tanked that game with the officials from Barselona on purpose, because his girfriend(now wife) got accepted to a university in the USA, so he got to like the idea of playing there more.
Yugoslav/Serbian basketball style of playing was inspired by the HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS who visited Yugoslavia in the 1950's. Instantly the Yugo basketball changed from the Soviet era of rigid and tightly controlled style of basketball to the American 'free-flowing' improvisational style of playing. That's why you are noticing traces of Harlem Globetrotters exhibitions in Joker's game!
Malika is 100% right...only by seeing the Joker in person do you appreciate his greatness. He makes the game look so easy it's jaw dropping. The number of dunks, layups and wide open shots he creates for his teammates is stunning. Similarly, his footwork, strength and shooting touch is next level.
@@teddylovesit what do you mean haven’t been watching? I’ve been a Nuggets and NBA fan for 32 years and she started with the Nuggets…I guess you were taking my comment as if I was saying she is on a rise from nothing or something. I guess what I was trying to say is that she is in full stardom category of people covering the game. I know this isn’t new I was more thinking like her star is on trajectory of GOAT status of NBA player coverage and the trust that she has built in the players...
32years or not, that's not the issue here since Malika didn't cover the nba back then. But I think Giannis reacted best at how she covers players. You have more than crystal-clearly not been watchin'.
It’s a full circle from The Denver Nuggets and David Thompson and Dr Js ABA high flying dunks starting all that to Nikola and pure basketball. Nugget fan for over 50 years. They use to be call the Denver Rockets.
The thing about Jokic is you never see any tension in his game because he simply reads the situation on each possession.. He can inflict damage, at 7 feet, from pretty much any spot on the floor. It's his versatility and intelligence that stand out the most to me. He makes great decisions and takes great shots. When was the last time he forced anything? Lastly, it's a misnomer that Nikola isn’t a great athlete. This is utter nonsense. Basketball is a lot more than running and jumping, his eye-hand coordination is off tbe charts. HIs also strong as an ox, you're not moving him when he power dribbles and is in score mode inside. He has tremendous touch and most importantly sees the entire floor.
great look Malika and i appreciate how much you've grown in your craft and the way you conduct interviews on both ends giving fans the want to hear insight. you're are amazingly gifted woman!!
What’s amazing about the TRIPLE DOUBLE LORE? Is all the GREATS who play and have played, want it. It’s extremely difficult stat-line to achieve, and it gives cadence to a player’s overall greatness. If Joker is achieving triple doubles, and it’s done by stat padding (which essentially implies he’s getting them easier because of it) why is it harder for other great players to achieve? Especially when a TRIPLE DOUBLE is a highly sought after stat line? Perhaps getting a triple double is unbelievably hard, stat padding or not? I swear people hate what they don’t understand and or comprehend the unknown.
What's the difference between a stat padder and a player simply having a great game? Part of a triple double is assists so that alone would suggest that you aren't being a ball hog. High scoring with low assists to me is a true stat padder.
its crazy how the U.S. basketball system seems to be self aware of how the AAU funnel seems to create these immature, over-celebrated american guys who arent mentally prepared for being an nba superstar, but even with the awareness nothing seems to change over time and it gets even worse. Were gonna continue to see guys from europe take over the league until the entire culture of U.S. ball grows up.
That's America in a nutshell. We know our problems but do nothing to fix them. Conversely, we attract the best and brightest from every country, so we continue to thrive.
@@Jsch23 And still the most relevant players from the 2000s to now hell Jokic got drafted right when the Warriors became a dynasty it's still the modern era
That’s an immigrants perspective these guys bring. I can relate to that. Work hard and be humble. This has become so rare and so unamerican where everything is me me me in this country. Hope young kids are watching this getting inspired. As a great song once said, we are just another brick in the wall.
hehehhe I mean they are the same tribe/ethnicity different religion. We had our disputes with Croats its kind of like the Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics (though we the same people just a lot of differences or throughout history to put it lightly) Modric is half Serbian though he doesnt identify as one. Jokic is Jokic, Modric is Modric they arent the same. Best of luck to 'em both. We dont like to compare ourselves to them, and they dont like to compare themselves to us.
Dan, ESPN had no problem finding Steve Nash highlights of throwing alley oops. If you are actually watching, Jokic has 3 or 4 highlight real plays night in and night out. Mostly it's his incredible passing that's slept on by highlight reals. He aslo has Clutch turn around 1-footed jumpers (no problem showing those for Dirk over the years), his signature Sombor Shuffel shot. He's always making 1 or two clutch defensive plays. I think he is just misunderstood by producers. They need to look at his game more like Jason Kidd, or Magic, who were pass first guys and yet full of highlights.
One reason the Nuggets aren't 'watchable' is because they literally are 'unwatchable'; Denver doesn't have Nuggets TV coverage because Altitude TV is owned by the Kroenkes, and they cannot come to an agreement with either Comcast or Dish Network to televise Nuggets, Avalanche or Rapids (Soccer) games. So, the only TV coverage the Nuggets do have here in Denver is either TNT or ESPN.
Waterpolo (and handball) players are beasts like his brothers. You can tell right away with how he manipulates the ball, how he cradles it, the side passes. If you play the other sports, you notice it.
Coming from the very same area as Nikola Jokic (province of Vojvodina in Serbia ex Yugoslavia ) i have to say he is indeed an unique person and player still somehow a product of the culture and history of surroundings where he grow up (the way he moves, basically slowly , and speaks his language in a very funny and very dear way to me ). Lowland of Vojvodina ,fertile landscapes of cornfields , rye and other agricultural activities turned Vojvodina in a "slow" life rhythm area known about "lets take it easy" approach when it comes to any kind of activities. To eat good food and drink good vine. Love towards the horses derives naturally. I am coming from the past , from Yugoslavia where hundreds of thousands kids swarmed over basketball playgrounds, playing all day long, after Yugoslavia become World Champion (again and again). Absolutely, madly in love with the game. Many famous basketball players came from Yugoslav School of Basketball to play in NBA. Divac, Petrovic, Radja, Stojakovic, Kukoc coming from different parts of Yugoslavia left their trace in NBA. Excellent Players. All of them , more or less accepted "homo homini lupus" American culture where the first one is the winner and all the rest are looser. All of them were impressive. But only Nikola Jokic have changed the game. HE HAS CHANGED THE GAME. He climbed to the very top of it. it is not going to be the same any more. Basically slow, absolutely unathletic, with a deep love to the game, clearly dedicated to win TOGHETHER with his teammates, humble , bright eyes, with the type "i do not know how and why i did it, it had to be done" answers he had during the press conferences. Passing the ball. Everybody passes the ball but Jokic Scoring..... You know i am playing basketball a life time now. I work for UN DPKO and I've build basketball playgrounds in a very peculiar spots over this planet (Baghdad Green Zone, Sahara Northern Mali ..) and i replay Jokic's passing the ball over and over again. He brought a smile to my face. Kids are going to swarm the playgrounds again. Thank you Nikola Jokic for passing the ball to me and to all the people who recognized the way you are playing it. Malika , thank you for a very good job when it comes to this and other interviews you do. You have shown the ability to understand Nikola Jokic in a way which is impressive, America and Serbia.taking in consideration cultural gap between
All the talking heads especially the Jokic haters and perhaps the entire NBA deep state are in a panic because their long-held formula that the ultimate basketball player is someone who's a swellhead slamming explosive dunks and doing flashy dribbling. Here comes an outsider who absolutely smashes their formula with the simplest of moves, dishing insane passes, and shooting fadeaways with one leg almost all in slow motion AND HE STACKS UP HISTORIC NUMBERS! Yeah, Jokic is like an electric eel giving them the 1,000 volts to their brains!
I hope there are more good players waithing to show, that they are coming. I am sad that there are no more so called baskett, 3x3 in former Jugoslavia!
Serbia just won the FIBA 3x3 world cup. In the past decade they have easily won over half the WC and they are known as great 3x3 nation so much so that many of them play under a different banners/teams/countries.
Nikola is NOT a center. He is a tall point guard. He passes, He shoots from the midcuourt, and he occasionally drives to the rim. He shoots threes when the 24 secnd clock is winding down, orwhebn he hs the hot hand
What she said about going to play in Spain is not true. They still wanted him after bad game but in the meantime Nuggets called and brought him in Denver.
@@billandbear well there are MORE of Nikola's interviews which last more than 5 min. in Serbia, in Serbian and prob that is how Lazar knows. All those interviewers dont go around and try to get some of Nikola's fame and translate all the interviews which they could do... other than making these short interviews with all same questions it would be more smart to read history, tradition, religion of the nation he belongs to, to better understand his mentality etc..
