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Nikola Jokic Won the 2023 NBA Finals and Just Wants to Go Home

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Gia Nguyen
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Gia Nguyen Sports Editor

Gia is a Basketball Insiders contributor based in Canada. She graduated from the University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Science, so she knows the make-up of a winning bet. Gia uses her analytical background to tell stories using the latest data and statistics. Her work has been sourced by Entrepreneur, Inquirer, and more. Gia is also interested in health, wellness, and yoga.

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Sports Editor

Updated13 Jun 2023

Nikola Jokic Won the 2023 NBA Finals and Just Wants to Go Home

On Monday night, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets were crowned NBA Champions with their win over the Miami Heat in Game 5 at Ball Arena. Jokic was named NBA Finals MVP after his historic postseason run.

The Nuggets’ star became the first player to lead the postseason in total points, rebounds, and assists. He also became the first player with 250 rebounds and 150 assists in a single postseason, among eight other achievements. Despite his overall greatness, the only thing that was on Jokic’s mind was going home.

As teammates and fans were partying, Jokic made it very clear he couldn’t wait to go home.

Nikola Jokic Finding Out the NBA Parade is On Thursday

As always, the NBA Championship team has a parade shortly after winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy. During his press conference, Jokic finds out that the parade is set for Thursday, potentially conflicting with his offseason plans.

His reaction was comedic. Instead of being excited for the parade, Jokic realized it will prevent him from leaving for Serbia sooner.

Throughout the NBA Finals celebrations, Jokic couldn’t wait to go home to Serbia and focus on his passion for horses. Jokic owns a stable back home and likes to race horses. Before even winning the NBA Championship, Jokic said he was going to buy another horse, win or lose.

Check out Jokic’s reaction to finding out the Denver Nuggets NBA Championship parade is on Thursday.

Twitter Reacts to Nikola Jokic’s Reaction to Winning NBA Championship

Twitter didn’t hold back on the NBA Finals MVP. Even though the entire Nuggets organization was celebrating, it’s evident that Jokic’s energy doesn’t match theirs. Instead, he’s seen half haphazardly celebrating and standing off in the corner.

In other post-game interviews, Jokic still can’t hold his excitement of getting to go home to Serbia.

Check out the best Twitter reactions to Jokic winning the NBA Championship.

Jokic’s Historic Stats

Heading into game five on Monday, Jokic had already broken a bunch of postseason records. The 2023 NBA season will be capped off for Jokic with a championship ring, the Finals MVP award, and a long list of records.

Check out all of the Jokic’s postseason records this year below.

  • The first player to lead a postseason in total points, rebounds, and assists
  • Most triple-doubles in a single postseason (10)
  • The first player with 250 rebounds and 150 assists in a single postseason
  • The first player with a 30/20/10 Finals game
  • The first player with 25 points on 75% FG in the Finals clincher
  • First center since 2002 (Shaq) to win Finals MVP
  • The first center to lead the champion in regular season PPG since 2002 (Shaq)
  • The fifth player with 30 PPG, 10 RPG & 5 APG in a Finals series
  • The eighth player with to win NBA MVP or Finals MVP in three straight seasons
  • Lowest drafted player to lead NBA champion in regular season PPG (41st pick)

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