Nikola Jokic has never acted like a superstar who needs the spotlight. Even after becoming a three-time MVP and one of the NBA’s biggest names, the Denver Nuggets center has kept his private life firmly away from the attention that follows him. But after more than a decade of dealing with fans, cameras and constant requests, even the Joker admits that his patience is wearing him and he is becoming “ruder.”
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That change has apparently started affecting how he responds to people who approach him in public. Jokic recently explained that he has become more distant in a conversation on the Jao Mile Podcast. Before wrapping up the 36-minute-long interview, the host asked if the Nuggets star missed anonymity.
“A lot,” said Jokic without hesitation. “I have to, I have to admit, a lot. And it bothers me more and more, and this is going to sound bad. I’m becoming ruder to people who approach me, because it’s, honestly, it’s exhausting. Some people in my circle, I spent the whole summer with I really don’t take photos, because that is my time. Now I’m going to sound rude again, but it is what it is now, so what if it I really don’t take photos, really, neither with kids. I don’t take photos, and that is because that is my time.
“And if people can’t understand that, well, I’m rude to people. People tell me, like that I’m rude, there are always some comments, but that is my time. I understand everything, but it’s been 11-12 years and enough is enough. It’s better for someone to come up to me to tell me something, rather than now to, ‘Hey, take a photo.’ Well that’s like you go to the zoo and take a photo with someone, or like, you take a picture of some miracle. I have no idea.”
For Jokic, the issue appears less about disliking fans and more about protecting the limited time he gets away from basketball. After spending roughly a decade as one of the league’s most recognizable players, he seems to have reached a point where constant accessibility no longer feels reasonable.
The Joker’s comments put some recent criticism of his interactions with fans into a different light. One incident in particular came earlier this year, when the Nuggets visited Chicago for Serbian Heritage Night. Close to 50 young members of the “Tromeđa” folklore group from the Church of St. George in Indiana had traveled to the United Center specifically for the occasion.
Wearing traditional Serbian attire, the children also appeared on the arena screens while welcoming their fellow Serbian with a traditional song and dance. Yet despite the effort, the group reportedly never got an interaction with the three-time MVP.
According to Serbian Times columnist Antonije Kovačević, the young fans waited for the Nuggets star but were left disappointed when he skipped a potential meet-and-greet and departed the arena. Kovačević had also previously written about how different the MVP’s relationship with fans appeared during his early NBA years, when he was more willing to interact with reporters and supporters. These days, the columnist said Jokic meets young fans in Denver “on assignment.”
That mindset also connects with another revealing comment he made during the same Mile podcast appearance. Nikola Jokic pushed back against the idea that children should automatically consider him a role model simply because of his success.
“Some might not agree with this, but I don’t think anyone should take me as a role model,” Jokic said in Serbian. “I’ve had both good and bad examples around me, but deep down, I’ve always known what was right or wrong.”
The Joker would explain that he does not believe public figures have as much influence over young people as many assume. So, it’s clear that Nikola Jokic does not appear interested in becoming a larger-than-life personality outside the court. That’s why the notion also exists that the Nuggets star appears at peace when he is back in Serbia with his horses, rather than on the hardwood in States.