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Jokic’s #JewishEthics

History was made when Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets became the lowest draft pick to ever win the NBA MVP award.

Nikola Jokic in his early days (Jerry Mellman)

Consider: More than 60% of all MVP winners are among the top five picks in the NBA draft. Not even one was in the second half of the 1st round (picks #16-30). Jokic, however, was picked in the middle of the second round, at #41.

This is a basketball rags-to-riches tale. Despite being crowned the best player in the entire league, perhaps it is Jokic’s exemplary character that distinguishes him most.

Here are five character traits we can all learn from Jokic.

#1 — Humility

In a sports world consumed by ego, Jokic’s humility is becoming legendary. After receiving the news, he immediately turned to his team:

“Look guys, this is not my award. I mean, yeah, it’s an individual award of course but I couldn’t have done it without you guys. I guess it’s my trophy or whatever, but you guys are a big part of it, so thank you everyone. Thank you.”

When asked what the MVP means to him, his response was, “It doesn’t affect me that much, to be honest. When I see the list, of course there’s great names. I never thought I would be on the list. It’s a surprise.”

These are rare words from an MVP winner. Remember, we are not talking about a rabbinical conference where it is admirable — if not expected — for one to downplay one’s talents. We are talking about a sports league where attention is craved and ego reigns.

Even after being ejected in Game 4 of the recent playoffs on a ridiculously exaggerated call, he had the mentschlichkeit to apologize to the player he fouled. That requires humility.

Jokic exemplifies the Talmudic statement, “One who flees from honor, honor will catch up to him” (Eruvin 13b).

As Jokic slowly emerged as the MVP favorite the last couple of months, he was asked incessantly about his MVP candidacy. Other MVP candidates don’t hesitate to tout their case. Jokic, by contrast, was visibly uncomfortable to be asked about it. He even refused interviews with national outlets!

A reporter asked him a question that no one has likely ever thought to ask an MVP winner before. “Are you happy the MVP proceedings are over?” The answer, unsurprising at this point and with a smile, was “To be honest, yes.”

#2 — Work ethic/Discipline

The Nuggets strength coach, Felipe Eichenberger, once said, “If he tells you ‘I’m gonna do something’ with that determined look, he will.”

Jokic religiously follows Eichenberger’s diet recommendations as if he were G-d commanding the kosher laws.

Even when the rest of the team indulges in Southern-fried food after a win in Memphis, Jokic sticks with his regular postgame meal: chicken and rice.

Jokic had an insane Coca-Cola habit — a gallon per day! — but once he resolved to stop, he stopped. He hasn’t touched soda in five years.

Despite being the team’s best player, he’s consistently the first one into the gym and the last one out.

#3 — Healthy humor

There’s a good reason why his nickname is “Joker.” A few years back, Nuggets coach Michael Malone described him as “just a big, goofy kid.” Watch his post-game press conferences, and he’s constantly cracking jokes, many of them self-deprecating.

Humor is a finicky thing. Judaism frowns upon levity or cynicism, but Jokic uses humor in a positive way, to poke fun at insanity and restore equilibrium. Basketball is his priority, but he makes light of it at times because it’s not “his everything.” He often references the numerous other blessings in his life, the one mentioned most frequently being his family.

Clearly, there’s a competitive desire that burns strongly within Jokic, but you’d never know it by watching him speak. He’s equally liable to make a “goofy” comment after a loss as he is after a win.

Losses don’t define him; neither do failures. He knows that, rather than beating himself up, the best response to failure is to channel his talents toward success the next time out. To borrow from Proverbs 24:16, “Seven times a righteous person may fall, but he picks himself up.” We would all do well to adopt Jokic’s easygoing approach to failure.

#4 — Presence in the moment

When asked a few months back about being an emerging MVP candidate, he demurred. “I never think about that,” he said.

“I’m just thinking about the next game. I think that’s what the mentality needs to be . . . when you think in the future, I think you put a lot of pressure on yourself.”

Unknowingly, he echoed the Elder of Novorodock, 19th-century musar giant: “Man must be able to sacrifice all of his tomorrows for today, so that he need not sacrifice all of his todays for one tomorrow.”

Worrying about what the future will bring can paralyze us from actually achieving something today.

#5 — Selflessness

Being selfless shares some common roots with humility, but is distinct from it. No further evidence is needed for Jokic’s selflessness than one statistic: 8.3 assists per game, the second-highest average for an NBA center in history.

Jokic’s selflessness is on full display each time he passes the ball despite having a great opportunity to shoot it himself.

Watching highlights of his passing is a jaw-dropping exercise that leaves you speechless. He simply doesn’t pass like most players, but actively looks for any opportunity, however outlandish it might seem, to give his teammates a good look at the basket.

In his coach’s words, “Nikola is all about the team. I really think he gets greater enjoyment out of making everyone around him better. He’s not about the spotlight, he doesn’t have an ego.” Incredibly, he once asked his coach to come off the bench instead of starting.

In the bigger picture, since Lebron James became the first player to form a “superteam” in 2010 — in the decidedly unhumble fashion of building up drama and labeling it “The Decision” — this has become the way of the NBA. Superstars demand trades and otherwise collude with each other to end up on big-market teams together (e.g, New York, Los Angeles).

Given that Jokic plays in the relatively anonymous market of Denver, he was once asked about this trend and his ideal place to play. Jokic, true to form, declared, “My personal opinion is I’d rather win a championship with the Denver Nuggets than with any other team. I’d like to stay here forever.”

Coloradans couldn’t be happier if this class act does just that.

Chaim M. Goldberg is a former Denverite who lives in Jerusalem, and is a student at Hebrew U.



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Chaim Goldberg is a columnist with the IJN. He holds rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva University and a graduate degree in psychology from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Currently, he lives in Jerusalem where he works as an educational psychologist and teaches at gap-year programs.


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