Looking at Nikola Jokic’s career today, everything seems so easy, just like his game. We are talking about a man who, along with only Bill Russell and Larry Bird, finished in the top two in MVP voting for five consecutive seasons, won the award three times, as well as Western Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP, and delivered the first-ever championship in Denver Nuggets history.
A textbook career that grew yearly, supported by an Olympic silver and bronze with the Serbian national team, losing only to Team USA in 2016 and 2024. But a little over a decade ago, things were far from ideal. On the 6.75 Range podcast, Jokic’s agent Misko Raznatovic reveals the dramatic story leading up to Jokic’s move to Denver.
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“He was in his mind already in red and blue, he just needed to put on the jersey,” Raznatovic said. “The deal with Barcelona was completely done. We decided to pull Jokic from the draft, which upset four or five teams, with Denver leading that frustration. I honestly didn’t think he was ready to go to the NBA from Mega, not because of talent, but his physique, he needed a lot of work. I was fine with him going to the EuroLeague, Barcelona, we agreed on a three-year contract.”
“Then, because of one bad game, we paused that plan. In the meantime, Denver expressed strong interest in bringing him over, and that offer and concept erased all my fears, and Nikola ended up in Denver. The idea was for him to play a little, be a backup for Nurkic, but kudos to Denver, they recognized his talent after just two or three months and handed him the keys to the team. If he had stayed in Europe, it’s unlikely he would have this path,” he concluded.
One bad game by Jokic changed his destiny
Barcelona is one of the greatest European clubs of all time, with a youth academy that produced the Gasol brothers and Ricky Rubio. This season, they are planning to bring a 13-year-old into the senior team program. Surely, they had serious prospects, but one bad game by The Joker they scouted led them to have second thoughts about him. A choice they certainly regret today.
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Since Jokic had already decided to pull from the draft in agreement with Raznatovic, knowing his physique at the time wasn’t suited for the extreme demands of the NBA, he wanted to gradually build his career first through the EuroLeague and then the NBA, like many other great European players before him. Interestingly, Denver didn’t want to give up on Jokic, and according to Raznatovic, they became even more aggressive in their pursuit of him.
Barcelona’s rejection ultimately motivated him
If he had gone to Spain, we might never be talking about one of the greatest NBA careers in history today. Jokic himself once admitted that he knew he was good at basketball, but it was never even in the back of his mind that he would one day reach the NBA level. His love for the game, however, helped him overcome adversity when others doubted him.
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“Play the game,” he said. “Just enjoy it. Because at that moment I never thought I’m gonna do something big in basketball. I was just trying to play. Just play and enjoy the game if you love it. If you don’t love it, find something that you love.”
Raznatovic’s story only further confirms what we already know about the three-time MVP, a man who at times seems uninterested and shocks with statements about retiring early to spend time with his horses. A unique story that will likely never be repeated. Jokic, against all odds, reached the highest levels of basketball, despite all the obstacles in his path, and even Barcelona’s rejection ultimately motivated him to show the world that he was the one.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.