Jokic hilariously stars in ad, shows up to dominate game 1 dressed as movie villain

Nikola Jokic gets - and deserves - a lot of credit for everything he does on a basketball court. There are barely any skeptics of the superstar Serbian big man at this point, and his overall game is impeccable. His off-court persona and demeanor have been the subject of comedy and ridicule in the past, but nothing more.

But Saturday provided a stark reminder of how funny of a person Jokic is capable of being, and he even outdid himself this time, possibly even outshining his stellar on-court play. First, on Saturday morning a TV commercial was released, depicting Jokic in a therapy session, complaining that he keeps getting mistaken for Gru and the Minions won’t leave him alone.

Gru is the supervillain from the Despicable Me series of animated kids movies, who some could say has a resemblance to the Joker. In the ad for the new installment, Despicable Me 4, Jokic tells the therapist that the comparison to Gru doesn’t bother him, but his minions keep mistaking him for their boss.

As if that wasn’t enough, hours later, Jokic capped off the comical commercial by showing up to game one of the Nuggets’ first-round playoff series against the Lakers decked out in an outfit unmistakenly mimicking Gru, himself.

This was an absolutely hilarious moment from Jokic, showcasing his personality, sense of humor, and also his lack of stress or nervousness ahead of another playoff run. The Joker has to be pretty cool, calm, and collected to show up dressed like that, then dominate LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers to the tune of 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists without turning the ball over.

It also has to be fairly demoralizing - and perhaps motivating - for the Lakers. We know how important this series is to LA and how focused and locked in they are, which isn’t to say the same isn’t true of the Nuggets. But to see Denver’s biggest star showing up to the game dressed as a supervillain from a kid's movie, and then dominate the game has to at least catch the attention and ire of that locker room.