Nikola Jokic said in his rare interview, that his family lifts him up and helps him in his remarkable NBA life. Let’s look a little closer at his family members.
Nikola Jokic wife
Natalija Macesic Jokić (wife)
Date of birth: January 4, 1995
Nikola Jokic told once, that his wife makes his life easier, although her life by his side isn’t always a bed of roses. He met Natalija Macesic in the 2000s when both were high school students. Nikolo and his friends used to hang out in the local café in Sombor. One day Natalija joined the company, and Nikola immediately fell in love with her. But for 8 months they were just friends. They started dating at the age of 16, and that was real love. In 2015 Natalija moved from Serbia to the USA to study there. Later Nikola left the School of Economy in Serbia and followed her.
Natalija supported her boyfriend in his ambitions to become an NBA player. For several years she shared an apartment with Nikola and his 2 brothers in cold Denver, CO.
Jovic was gradually becoming a sports star, and that attracted lots of public attention to his girlfriend Natalija. The pretty active girl immediately became popular in the USA. Her sincere love and support inspired lots of sports lovers.
They got married on October 24, 2020, in Nikola’s hometown of Sombor, Serbia. The ceremony was extremely private. Policemen guarded the entrance to the church, where the couple exchanged wedding vows. After the marriage, the young wife changed her surname to Jokić.
Not much is known about Nikola’s wife. Natalija was born in Kordun, Croatia. In 1995 her family moved to Sombor, Serbia. She changed her residence again in 2015 to stay by Nikolo’s side when he moved to the USA to start a career in Denver Nuggets. She studied psychology at Metropolitan State University (Denver). Previously, she studied the same science at Seminole State College in Oklahoma. She played for the college volleyball team there. After getting her diploma, Natalija started working as a psychologist.
In 2021 Natalija and Nikolo parented their firstborn – a daughter Ognjena.
Nikola Jokic kids
Ognjena Jokic (daughter)
Date of birth: September 2021
Nikola and Natalija welcomed their firstborn in September 2021. In his interview, Nikola told, that he dreams to have many kids, so hopefully, soon Ognjena will become a big sister to someone.
Nikolo likes his life as a basketball player, but he understands that he has lots of restrictions, which his wife and daughter have to share with him. Thus, he is away from home for 100 days, and he doesn’t see his baby girl growing up. When he comes, Ognjena is different. It takes Nikolo several days to get used to this fact.
The NBA star values everything his wife does for their daughter. He confessed that it would be very hard for him to care about another person 24 hours a day. Although he is not a record chaser, one day he plans to tell about his basketball achievements to Ognjena and, probably, to his other kids.
Who are Nikola Jokic parents?
Branislav Jokić (father)
Date of birth: circa 1961
Nikola Jokic shares a close bond with each member of his family. His father, Branislav Jokić, is one of his best friends and supporters.
Branislav spent the major part of his life in Sombor, Serbia. He used to work as an agricultural engineer. Although Branislav still is a Serbian resident, he spends a lot of time in Denver, Colorado, USA to support his son.
Recently, Mr. Jokić became the President of the basketball club “Joker”, where his son Nikola used to play in his teens. That’s why the NBA player bears the nickname “Joker” as of now. Branislav puts lots of effort to develop the club. He keeps strong connections with Felipe Ajhenberger, the Denver Nuggets conditioning coach, who gives instructions on how to train kids in Joker. Nikolo also watches and analyzes each Joker game.
Mrs. Jokic (mother)
Nikola Jokic’s mother stays away from the limelight. Nevertheless, she is the heart of the Jokic family, although she looks so little in comparison with her tall boys. Mrs. Jokic taught Nikolo and the other sons to love their Serbian roots and to be modest. The famous NBA player keeps in his heart her values till now.
Nikola Jokic siblings
Strahinja Jokic (older brother)
Date of birth: 1982
Nikola’s brothers stay out of public attention but they always stay by Nikola’s side and help him. Currently, Strahinja shares his time between his apartment in Denver, CO, and Sombor, Serbia, where he serves as a director at Joker.
Strahinja is the oldest among the Jovic brothers. He is the tallest one, too. In their early years, Strahinja and his 2 younger brothers played basketball. He sat squatting to be as tall as his younger brother Nikola while playing. In his interviews, the Nuggets star always tells, that Strahinja was a role model for him. He also coached Nikola at the initial stages of his career.
They say Strahinja was a college basketball player as well. He moved from Sombor, Serbia to Denver, CO to support his younger brother in his ambitions to play for the NBA.
Currently, Strahinja lives in Colorado. He keeps his personal life secret. Nevertheless, rumors that he is married appeared in the media in October 2019. Then he was arrested for assaulting a woman in his apartment. Strahinja prevented her from leaving the apartment by force and even strangled her (as she reported to the police). That woman turned out to be his wife.
Previously, Nikola’s oldest brother also couldn’t control his anger, when he shouted at the referee during the Nuggets’ match but was stopped by the security guards.
Nemanja Jokic (older brother)
Date of birth: August 26, 1984
Nemanja is the shortest among the 3 brothers. Still, in comparison to other people, he is a very big person. Like his siblings, Nemanja is a great athlete. He used to play basketball for the college team and even achieved some success in it, although he didn’t become a professional player. Like his siblings, Nemanja is an American resident. He has an apartment in the Bronx, NY.
Nemanja studied business administration in college. He used to go fishing with his brothers in his free time. He serves on the director’s board of the Joker basketball club. Nemanja is a frequent guest at his brother’s matches. One day he was ready to start a fight for his younger brother when Nikolo had an altercation with Devin Booker on the court.
Bio
Nikola Jokic is one of the brightest modern NBA stars in the world. He comes from Sombor, Serbia. He is an impressive representative of the first generation of basketball players, who come from former Yugoslavia. This professional basketball did the thing, which just 15 players have achieved before him. He got the MVP title 2 times in a row (as of 2023).
He grew up in a two-bedroom house in Serbia with his parents, older brothers Nemanja and Strahinja, and a grandmother. His older brothers taught him to play basketball in his early years. Probably, under their guidance, he started his career. They had a toy hoop on the entrance door and played basketball together.
At first, basketball was just one of his hobbies. The other passion was horses. His parents took him to the horse race, and the boy fell in love with those animals. He has stables with racing horses in his house nowadays and starts the day by training them. He would become a horseman if he retired from basketball.
He was 16 years old when he joined the popular Serbian basketball team “Mega Leks”. It plays in the Adriatic League. Nikola had just turned 19 when he got the title of the Adriatic League MVP player. Then, he moved to Denver, Colorado, where he was drafted by Denver Nuggets. His numbers immediately became impressive: the young player earned 23 points with 12 ball bounces.
Nikola’s statistics improve from year to year, and he has already broke several records. Thus, he replaced Wilt Chamberlain as the record-setter with the number of triple-doubles in his career. In 2023 Jokic has already reached the number of 100 triple-doubles (in comparison with Wilt’s 78).
The Serbian player seems to have no ambitions at all. He tells, that he doesn’t chase any records and that it is just “his moment” and surely, some younger talented player will replace him in the Denver Nuggets team one day. But in July 2022 his contract with Nuggets was extended to 5 more years. This $264 million deal became the richest in NBA history. His great results made him the 2nd best NBA player after LeBron James.
Interesting and fun facts
At the beginning of his career, his role models were Novica Veličković, the former player for the Serbian Adriatic League, and Tim Duncan, the ex-NBA player and one of the greatest forwards in basketball history.
Nikola is considered one of the best turnovers in NBA history. He often gives great passes even without looking at the player, who has to accept it. One of his most important strengths is the ability to memorize the game fast.
Jokic used to tell in his interview, that he doesn’t have an ego at all. He is always happy with other players’ success. He is on good terms with everyone and doesn’t have any enemies.
When he comes home after the season, he doesn’t train at all for 2-3 weeks. The physical activity, which he likes at that period, is playing football or squash. After having some rest, Nikola gradually returns to his workouts in the gym. He starts with easy exercises and then returns to his usual regime.
His height is 6 ft 11 in and his weight is 249 pounds. He was quite fat as a school pupil but lost 35 pounds before he started his career in NBA. Nowadays he has a cook. Nikola is very strict with his diet routine.
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