Nikola Jokic drops massive hint about NBA playing future seemingly by accident

While doing his tour of China, Nikola Jokic has been garnering lots of media attention and happily playing along with all of it. In a recent interview, he was asked about the recent draft pick of the Blazers, Hansen Yang. The young, Chinese big man has been compared to the Joker and recently commented that he’d like a picture and an autograph from Jokic when the two meet.

Jokic was shown the video and said, “I’m happy when he gets in his prime, that I’m gonna be out of the league probably”. Nikola immediately seemed to catch himself and appeared to do some math in his head before stammering about “maybe” and “actually”. 

He went on to say that Yang is talented and joked that he can have his picture and autograph as long as he plays poorly when the Blazers and Nuggets face off. It ended up being an innocent enough interview, mostly filled with laughs and jokes, but maybe there was more to the line about Joker’s future.

Innocent playful comment or tipping of the hand?

Is this something or nothing? It’s hard to tell, especially given the relaxed setting and somewhat joking nature of the question that obviously caught Jokic somewhat off guard. But still, perhaps the fact that he wasn’t prepared and was just speaking off the cuff is an indication that deep down, he knows he won’t be in the league much longer.

There has been talk and speculation forever that Jokic would retire as early as possible and head back to Serbia to hang out with his horses and never be heard from again. But there has never been any actual substantial evidence that this was true other than anecdotal comments and observations here and there.

Jokic seemed genuine and forthright

This is the first time where it seemed like Jokic was just being honest and talking casually, and actually dropped a hint. The idea that he is talking about rookies already in the NBA and his first reaction is that he’ll be out of the league before they reach their prime shows a little insight into his brain.

Whether he lets it be known or not, he’s obviously started to think about the end. He’s 30 years old now and he has upped his leadership and become more involved in team affairs. Subtly or not, he put some pressure on the organization this summer and has made it clear he wants to win badly.

These comments are just further proof that he and the Nuggets are on the clock, and both sides know it. Maybe this means 3 more years, maybe it means 5 more years, maybe it means 7 or 8 more years. Hell, maybe it means nothing at all, and Jokic truly wasn’t thinking. But the word is out there, and this certainly won’t be the last time we hear about it.