Nikola Jokic, also known as "the Joker," was born in February 1995 in Sombor, Serbia. Though briefly interested in horse racing as a teenager, he ultimately chose to focus on basketball. At 17, he signed his first professional contract with the Serbian team Mega Vizura.
In the 2014 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets recognised Jokic's promise and selected him 41st overall. After another year playing with Mega Vizura, the Serbian made his NBA debut in the 2015-16 season where he exceeded all expectations and earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Since his impressive debut, Jokic has been a standout player in the NBA, earning six All-Star selections. He won the Most Valuable Player Award consecutively in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. In the 2022-23 season, the 28-year-old led the Nuggets to their first Western Conference title and NBA championship with Jokic receiving the NBA Finals MVP award.
Nikola Jokic: Serbian Star and Olympic silver medallist
Jokic played age-group basketball for Serbia and won silver at the 2013 FIBA U-19 World Championship in Czechia. He was named tournament MVP at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament on home soil in Belgrade.
At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, his rebounding was key as Serbia reached the final where they went down 96-66 to the United States.
In the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Serbian team were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Argentina and finished in fifth place. Jokic took a break after that disappointment with the team failing to make Tokyo 2020, but returned ahead of EuroBasket 2022. Having gone 5-0 in the first round, Serbia fell to Italy in the round of 16.
The Serbian star opted not to participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup due to physical and mental fatigue following his victorious season with the Denver Nuggets. However, he kept the possibility of returning for Paris 2024 open, reserving the right to decide whether to participate in what would be his second Olympics.