"I didn't follow that much NBA" - When Nikola Jokic revealed modeling his game after all-time greats

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are currently up 1-0 over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. As the Nuggets' core looks to capture their first NBA championship together, the journey Nikola Jokic has been on is one that has inspired many.

From an out-of-shape young kid growing up in Serbia to a two-time MVP, Jokic's transformation has made headlines as he inches toward an NBA championship. While some players grew up idolizing and studying the games of NBA legends, that wasn't the case for Nikola Jokic.

As it turns out, growing up, Jokic wasn't familiar with the NBA growing up. Thanks to the time difference and the lack of YouTube when he was a kid, Nikola Jokic didn't have the same experience growing up as other NBA players.

As Jokic prepares for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, an old interview with the Players Tribune from 2016 surfaced where he wrote about the situation, saying:

"I didn't follow that much NBA, because in Serbia, the games are on at 3 and 4 a.m. When YouTube came out when I was like 15, I watched Magic because of his passing, and Hakeem because of his post moves, and Jordan because he is Jordan.

"But when I was a kid, I just watched my brothers. They play basketball, too. We had some courts outside in our hometown. When they would play on those courts, I would watch when I was a little baby with my pacifier. I mix a little bit of both of them. One is talented, one is really strong. I’m a little bit talented, and a little bit strong."

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Nikola Jokic's journey from Serbia to the NBA

As Nikola Jokic wrote in the PlayersTribune, his goal once he started playing basketball wasn't to make the NBA, it was to play for the Serbian national team. Despite that, after moving to the big city of Novi Sad, he began to find his rhythm, and before he knew it, he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets.

As it turns out, however, Jokic didn't find out that he was drafted until the following morning. Given the time difference, he was asleep when his brother called to tell him the good news. Frustrated about having a good night of sleep interrupted, he hung up on him.

Even once he found out the good news, Jokic still didn't believe that he was headed to the NBA right away. The way he saw things, he would probably spend another season overseas before making the move to the NBA.

"I didn’t think it was going to be a big thing." said Jokic. "I thought, they drafted me, and I stay one more season in Europe. I didn’t think that I was going to make it to the NBA right away."

Jokic added:

"Barcelona, one of the best teams in Europe, came to watch me, and I played the worst game ever. I think I scored like 4 points, and maybe that was a sign that Europe wasn’t for me. At the end of that season, the Nuggets called me, and said they wanted me on their team."