NBA Finals 2023: Nikola Jokic and Shaquille O’Neal share a wholesome moment as Nuggets star reveals who he followed growing up

Nikola Jokic, the star center of the Denver Nuggets, had another impressive performance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. He recorded his ninth triple-double of the playoffs, scoring 27 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 14 assists on 66.7% shooting. Following the game, Jokic participated in a postgame interview with NBA legends Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Grant Hill. Hill asked Jokic which players he modeled his unique style of play after while growing up in Serbia. Jokic then had some fun by jokingly choosing O’Neal:

“I’m just curious, growing up overseas, who were the guys that you wanted to pattern your game after? Because we haven’t really seen a big in the game quite like you,” Hill said.

“I think it's Shaq,” Jokic said before bursting into laughter.

“It means a lot. Thank you, brother,” O’Neal said.

However, Jokic later gave a more serious answer to the question, naming some of the players he looked up to while growing up in Serbia. He then named some players he modeled his game after once he made it to the NBA:

“To be honest, back in Serbia, I didn’t follow the NBA that much,” Jokic said.

“I did know Peja (Stojakovic) and Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic because they were the ones who first went to the NBA and opened the doors for other European players or players from ex-Yugoslavia. But when I came here, it was Tim Duncan, it was LaMarcus Aldridge, it was Boris Diaw, Dirk Nowitzki and those kinds of guys.”

Nikola Jokic on what it means for Serbians to see him playing in the NBA Finals

Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic

Later on in his postgame interview, Nikola Jokic was asked how big of a deal it is for Serbians to see him playing in the NBA Finals. The big man said that he wasn’t sure. However, he said that based on the text messages he's been getting, they are probably very excited:

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Jokic said.

“But I get messages and people from my hometown are telling me that people are getting organized and watching games at 2:00-3:00 in the morning. Right now, in Serbia, it’s like 4:00 in the morning and still they’re watching the game.

“And I think that just shows that probably they love to see someone from their hometown playing and performing at a high level.”