The Denver Nuggets have operated with a level of confidence that three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic will play his entire career with the franchise. With fellow superstar Luka Doncic making a bombshell statement in recent days, the possibility of a Jokic departure has now been introduced to his story.
European stars are built different. That's what has been said over the last decade about the loyalty of Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo to their teams. The Milwaukee Bucks have given Giannis plenty of reasons to request a trade, yet he has continued to recommit. The Nuggets have often prioritized financial savings over maximizing their basketball roster, and yet Jokic has not made a peep.
The entire concept is flawed, of course; NBA history has plenty of European stars who stayed with one team -- Dirk Nowitzki, for example -- but also plenty who changed teams, such as Pau Gasol or Tony Parker (in the end). Yet even the modern understanding of a European superstar has now been challenged after one of Jokic's compatriots spoke to the end of his career.
Luka Doncic has been on a media tour this summer to redefine his image after the Dallas Mavericks said goodbye to him in a shocking way, trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. A slimmed-down Doncic has been letting everyone know he is attacking next season with a vengeance, and his latest stop was an interview with Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal.
In that interview, the topic moved to Real Madrid, the Spanish basketball club where Doncic was essentially raised. He joined Real Madrid at the age of 13 and was there until he was drafted, winning multiple Spanish league championships and a EuroLeague title during Doncic's teenage years. The organization clearly meant a lot to him.
Gay asked Doncic if he would like to return to Real Madrid and help them win another title before the end of his career. His response? "For sure."
Nikola Jokic could follow Doncic's example
Nikola Jokic currently has everything you could want as a basketball star. He is on a maximum contract, he is playing for a competitive franchise, and he likely has an entire wing of his house now dedicated to his trophies, including three MVPs.
Yet for many it's unclear how the Serbian big man's career will end. Will he be driven to individual accolades and try to play into his 40s to move up career leaderboards? That doesn't seem to be his style. Will he try to earn max deal after max deal to fill his bank vault? Perhaps, if only to buy more racing horses.
What could motivate Jokic at the end, however, is a return home. A poetic 360 degree career arc that brings him back home to Europe before he hangs up his basketball shoes for the last time. If Luka Doncic might want to play for Real Madrid one last time, could Nikola Jokic want to play for MEGA before the end?
In 2012 Jokic signed with MEGA Basket, the premier team in Serbia, and he would play for them until joining the NBA in 2015. In his final season for MEGA he was named the league MVP as he blossomed into a European superstar; he obviously carried that growth into the NBA where he is now the unquestioned best player in the world.
Could Jokic come back to MEGA and play a season or two close to home before ending his career? It perhaps makes more sense for Jokic than any other European star, as he maintains such a strong connection to his home country and spends most of the offseason back home. Playing in Serbia and overseeing his racing exploits would seem like the perfect fit.
The end is a long way off for Doncic and for Jokic, and both hope to accomplish NBA postseason success this season and beyond. Eventually, however, their careers will near the end -- and it's very possible that Jokic decides to end his not in Denver, but in Belgrade.