Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic received the MVP award for the second straight year, which makes him only the 13th player to ever win it in consecutive seasons. He accepted the trophy in the most Jokic way possible: at a horse stable in the small city of Sombor in Serbia.
His entrance was iconic. Jokic arrived on a small carriage while live Serbian music greeted him. There was no fancy outfit, just shorts, a tank top and a helmet. He later proceeded to do a live interview at the stable while it was already dark outside. Jokic has said several times throughout his NBA career that he doesn't think too much about awards and this time was no different.
"Now I don't think about it," he said. "But probably when I'm old, fat and grumpy, hopefully I'm going to remember and I'm going to tell my kids back in the day I was really good playing basketball."
"When I'm old, fat and grumpy... I'm going to tell my kids back in the day I was really good playing basketball."
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 11, 2022
Nikola Jokic caught up with @TurnerSportsEJ after winning his 2nd consecutive #KiaMVP pic.twitter.com/ZtxhzwnCNd
The Serbia native presents himself as a down to earth person. During the interview he was asked if he considered himself a long shot to win the award. He said he definitely overcame the odds because he come from basically the same place from which he was sitting at the moment.
He was not alone while doing the interview. There was a horse in the background and a dog sitting off camera that probably needed some water. While the MVP answered questions with the trophy in front of him, the dog made coughing sounds. Jokic laughed off the interruption and took a second to look at him, then reassured everyone that the dog was ok.
Jokic made history last year when he became the first Denver Nugget to even win MVP. He began his career after being drafted by the Nuggets with the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, which made him the the lowest draft position to even win the award.
