Some players spend their offseason in Cancun, Mexico. Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who officially won the second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Trophy, went to Sombor, Serbia.
Despite Denver losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Golden State Warriors, the 27-year-old Serbian native put together an impressive season and led the Nuggets to a 48-34 record.
Jokic averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his regular-season MVP campaign. He became the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season.
He is the second international player to win two consecutive MVPs after the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo made similar performances in 2019 and 2020. Along with Jokic Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Stephen Curry are the only active players with multiple MVP awards.
When asked how to celebrate the joy of winning an award, he had a straightforward answer.
“Maybe music, beer, friends around, family,” he said. “That’s probably how you should do it.”
The Nuggets helped the Joker do so by flying to his hometown of Sombor to introduce his new hardware.
