56 Nikola Jokic Quotes About Passing, IQ, Being Humble, And Basketball

motivational quotes Jan 15, 2024

The top motivational quotes from Nikola Jokic:

Nikola Jokić is a professional basketball player from Serbia who currently plays for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA. In 2023, Jokić led the Denver Nuggets to their first title in franchise history.

Besides winning an NBA championship, "The Joker" also won an NBA Finals MVP, 2 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, and is a 5-time NBA All-Star.

Jokić is most known for his elite vision and passing ability, as well as his unselfishness and humble attitude.

His basketball IQ and playmaking skills are among the best in the NBA, regardless of position. In addition to his passing ability, Jokić is also a skilled scorer with the ability to score from anywhere on the floor.

Jokić's impact on the game goes beyond his individual stats. His leadership and unselfish play has earned him respect from teammates, coaches, and fans alike.

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Top Nikola Jokic Quotes About Passing

Jokic is not only one of the best passing big men of all-time, but best passers regardless of position.

He has such a high basketball IQ and always knows the right pass to make. There really isn't a pass that Jokic can't make.

As you can see from the following quotes, Jokic takes pride in his passing.

1. "Passing is kind of in my game all my life."

2. "A point makes you happy; an assist makes you and your teammate happy. An assist makes two people happy."

3. "Maybe water polo and volleyball really help me on the court. Water polo with my one-handed passes, volleyball too, maybe when I tap passes."

4. "There must be one guy open and I want to find him."

5. "When I was younger I always liked to pass."

6. "When everybody is sharing the ball, everybody makes everybody happy."

7. "We did a good job today in sharing the ball and finishing, scoring-wise, we ran very well in transition. It’s always nice to have 30-plus assists (as a team)."

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Nikola Jokic On Being Humble And Unselfish

Jokic has to be the most superstar in NBA history. When you hear him speak, he truly does not care about individual success or awards.

He gets joy out of helping his teammates be the best they can be and when his team has success.

8. "My dad is not really a relaxed guy. He's nervous. He wants to do everything. But I am completely opposite to him. I am calm."

9. "Being famous - I think some people like it. I don't really."

10. "To be honest, I don't really care if I'm starting or coming off the bench."

11. "Sometimes I am [the best player on the Nuggets], sometimes I'm not. And I'm cool with that."

12. "I just want to play hard and do the things coach asks me to do."

13. "They look to me as a leader. I need to be much better, it’s not them to blame. It’s me, then everybody else. It’s not one guy. You cannot say bench. You cannot say starters. You cannot say coach. It’s all collectively. It’s me first then the rest of the group."

14. "It's a collective effort."

15. "Maybe in the huddles I say something more. But I say it... not to become a leader, it's just to help my team out."

16. "An assist makes two people happy. A point makes one guy happy."

17. "I think I had a great season, the whole season, even better than last year, if that is enough, it's enough. If it's not, you cannot control that."

Best Basketball Quotes From Nikola Jokic

Jokic is known for playing basketball "the right way."

He always makes the play that needs to be made, even if it means passing up on individual stats or glory.

18. You need to go with that mentality and play the game. No pressure. Yes, you need to do something. But it's just a game.

19. "I was always really good with the ball, I was always passing the ball, scoring, shooting the ball. I think for me, that's just a normal thing."

20. "For me, every game is a pickup game in front of my house."

21. "When I was young, basketball wasn't my No. 1 priority."

22. "As long as I can take open shots or good shots, I'm going to take it."

23. "Basketball is an emotional game."

24. "When I am aggressive, I think that is going to help my teammates."

25. "To be honest, if we're underdogs, we like it; if we're favorites, I like it. It's something that you cannot let affect you."

26. "I feel really comfortable taking important shots, I think my teammates believe in me."

27. "Basketball is not the main thing in my life, and probably never gonna be. And to be honest, I like it, because I have something more at home, something that is more important than basketball."

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The Joker On Having Fun

Jokic's ability to have fun while playing basketball is evident whenever you watch him play.

You can tell he truly enjoys basketball, not for the fame or for the money, but for the sheer enjoyment of playing the game.

28. "This is not the job. We are just playing the game here. I am enjoying the game. I am playing every game as a game of pickup basketball in my hometown."

29. "I'm just playing basketball, the same way I have always played, from juniors and even back to middle school, I'm just doing it the same way. Nothing different. Just a team game, playing and having fun and trying to play the right way."

30. "I just play the game. If that means I need to joke around, or whatever I need to do, that's what I'll do."

31. "Winning is really fun."

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Jokic Quotes About Success And Winning

For Nikola, it isn't about individual success as much as it is about team success.

His ultimate goal is not to get MVP's or triple-doubles, but wins and championships.

32. "When you think about Kobe it's, 'No excuse. Nothing can put your mind off what you love to do.' It's the Mamba mentality, for sure."

33. "Of course, we're going to talk trash or whatever. Both teams just want to win the game."

34. "If you want to be successful, you need a couple years. You need to be bad, then you need to be good. Then when you’re good, you need to fail. Then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out. Experience isn’t about what happened to you, it’s about what you’re going to do about what happened to you. Yes, Jamal [Murray] was injured. Yes, we lose in the first round or second round… but there is a process… there’s steps you need to fulfill. There is no shortcuts, it’s a journey and I’m glad I’m part of the journey.”

35. "I'm trying to be the best I can be in what I do."

36. "I'm just trying to win the games."

37. "The job is done, we can go home now."

38. "That's behind us, we need to move on to the future. We won the game and that's the most important thing."

39. "If you don't try something, you never know."

40. "I’m glad that we finished the job here. I’m glad that everybody played well. I’m glad that we didn’t quit because we had a couple guys out. We fought every game, I’m glad that we have a really good group of guys and they're not quitters.

Best Quotes From Jokic About Dribbling

Even though he plays center, it's clear that Jokic loves whenever he gets the chance to dribble the ball.

When you combine his ballhandling ability with his elite passing, Jokic is a dangerous threat in transition.

41. "When I get the rebound - push the ball. That couple of seconds when you're trying to find the point guard, you're losing in transition. You rebound, push the ball and the whole game is faster."

42. "My teams in Serbia always had really good point guards. But I have always loved to dribble the ball. Even when I was outside, just walking by myself, I would always love to dribble and imagine my defender there in front of me - what I would try to do."

43. "Oh man, I am so happy when I get to dribble the ball."

44. "As center you can push the ball. If you're a big man and you can push the ball, or you can run fast, you can make a difference in the game."

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Nikola Jokic Quotes About Basketball IQ

Nikola has an extremely high basketball IQ that he partly attributes to the players he grew up watching.

His IQ is evident in some of the passes he makes - often "passing a teammate open."

45. "I watched Magic because of his passing, and Hakeem because of his post moves."

46. "I know my teammates better than opponents know them. If I can see my teammate in one moment, I know where he'll be in the next moment. I don't need to see him again."

47. "When you first come to practice, you learn the guys. You're going to play with them for the next couple seasons. You just need to know what shots they like, how they run, how good a leader they are. You need to know your personnel."

48. "I believe the only muscles you need in basketball are the ones in your brain."

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Other Nikola Jokic Quotes

49. "Kobe is probably an idol for so many players. He was such a great player so you wanted to be like Kobe. He's a legend that never dies."

50. "It's good...when you reach the goal. But I really think it's about the journey, and about the losing, taking pressure, stress, doubting yourself."

51. "I don't want to say something just to be a leader."

52. "I don't feel pressure."

53. "I loved playing every sport. Soccer, water polo, horses. Whatever. I just loved it - especially competing against my brothers."

54. "Someone said, 'He's not even in shape.' I am playing in 80 games and he said that I'm not even in shape."