'Little Nikola' turns 30: stories of young Jokic

Nikola Jokic's godfather lifts the lid on what the three-time NBA MVP was like before his Denver Nuggets fame.

Transcript

00:00Nikola Jelke!

00:05You always think of him, little Nikola, you know, but he's not little, he's an adult.

00:09He's seen the world, he's the best in the world.

00:16His older brothers, Nikola and Strahinja, used to play basketball,

00:21so we met each other at the basketball court.

00:23We became friends, and ever since I know both of them, I know Nikola.

00:28Nikola was very little and chubby, smart boy.

00:32He's very humble, highly intelligent, he's got photographic memory.

00:37Everything he sees once, he memorises that forever.

00:41He was a little bit spoiled when he was very little, obviously because of two older brothers,

00:46but he's a great person in every sense.

00:49He's the best player, but he's coming from what person he is,

00:55and from the family and everything else.

00:58You could tell he's extremely talented.

01:02He can do anything with a ball.

01:04He could do that at 15 years old, when he was 15 years old.

01:08He could do the same thing he's doing today.

01:10It's amazing.

01:11Nowadays he's stronger, he's extremely strong, extremely strong.

01:16I compare him as a gorilla.

01:19When I was travelling to Africa, I brought him like a big gorilla, made of wood, carved gorilla.

01:26He didn't have big muscles like Dwight Howard or some other guys when he was younger,

01:33but he was always persistent.

01:35He was doing hard and he was working more than everybody else.

01:41Didn't change him at all.

01:43Some characteristics became more broad and more exponent.

01:48He's more intelligent now.

01:50There is a long road ahead of Nikola.

01:54I'm hoping and I think he's going to achieve more and more.

01:59I personally do, but let's not put any burden on his back.

02:06Let him do what he does best.