NBA

Denver’s Aaron Gordon explains how Nikola Jokic’s ‘peace of mind translates onto the court’

Author photo
By
Antonio Kozlow
Author photo
Antonio Kozlow Sports Editor

Antonio is a life long sports enthusiast and professional journalist, who shares an obssesive urge to find and dig up the most interesting facts to guide gamblers towards more exciting, yet safe bets. In his own words, ''you can never really know enough about the things you love''.

All posts by Antonio Kozlow
Sports Editor

Updated13 Oct 2023

1245953006.0

Back in March 2021, Aaron Gordon requested a trade out of the Orlando Magic and landed in Colorado to what seems to be the best decision of his career. Not only did he find incredible chemistry with his star teammate Nikola Jokic, he also contributed to Denver‘s first-ever NBA championship this past year.

Ever since he put on the Nuggets jersey, his numbers have started to soar. This past season, he averaged 16.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per contest and credited a lot of the team’s success to his two-time MVP teammate.

Gordon believes that the peaceful, almost careless attitude that the Serbian usually discloses to the press, is a feeling that’s somehow translated to the court and the locker room’s confidence.

“His routine over there, his way of life, was very congruent. I could see his peace. The peace of mind translates onto the court. That’s what makes him such a good player. We have better chemistry off the court than we do on the court. And that’s saying something”, he said about Nikola.

In the video above check out at some of the best connections between Gordon and Jokic during their championship run.

This summer, the Nuggets forward decided to visit him in his hometown of Sombor, just as his Serbian friend decided to rest and not take part of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

“He’s the best player in the world. He works out like a monster. His regimen, his diet, and how detail-oriented he is with his body, are second to none. He’s only 28. So he’s going to get even smarter at manipulating the defense [and] offense. I don’t see anybody stopping him. They still haven’t found the answer for him yet”, Gordon shared.

About his weeks sharing with his teammate in Serbia, he only had good things to share. “The food is amazing”, he said about his stay in Sombor “The architecture is beautiful. It seems like each one of the buildings is unique. It’s very wholesome, their [real] easy way of life.”

When asked, Jokic said he didn’t enjoy his summer so much because the Nuggets played two months more than usual to fight for the title

During Denver’s Media Day, a reporter asked Jokic about what was the most fun about his summer vacations in Europe, and his answer has unexpected to say the least: “I think it’s actually opposite.”

The press attendees all drew laughs after his response, and awaited for him to further explain his remarks. “Because we played … extra months so we’re recovering and everything,” the MVP Finals then added.

The international superstar also mentioned Gordon’s summer visit, and showed appreciation for their lazy days together in Sombor.

“He asked me can I stay one more day. I said ‘Yes of course,'” he recalled. “We didn’t do anything special. He was just spending days with me. We were working out a couple times. Racetrack. Lakehouse. Quiet boring life.”