Nikola Jokic capped an all-time great run in the NBA playoffs by leading the Denver Nuggets to the first championship in franchise history earlier this week. Unsurprisingly, this meant that Jokic was named NBA Finals MVP, and while there were plenty of players on the Nuggets who performed well in their series against the Miami Heat, it would have been the shock of all shocks if anyone else took the award home.
Actually, scratch the last part of that sentence, because “took the award home” doesn’t quite apply to Jokic. The two-time league MVP sat down with Malika Andrews of ESPN in the aftermath of the win and actually revealed that he lost the trophy, which he last saw in the office of the team’s equipment manager, Sparky Gonzales.
“Basketball is not the main thing in my life. It’s something that I’m good at.”
Conversation with the Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic for NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/lB2I8bGzJ8
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 15, 2023
“I really don’t know,” Jokic said about the trophy’s location after Andrews noted that he’s the first Finals MVP to not bring it into a post-Finals interview she’s conducted. “I left it in Sparky’s room and it’s not there anymore. So, I don’t know. But hopefully it’s gonna arrive in my house.”
After the interview aired, Andrews was able to add a bit of clarity to the whole thing, saying that Gonzales actually has the trophy and it will be in Jokic’s possession by the time the team holds its championship parade.
Rest assured, the Nuggets’ longtime equipment guru Sparky Gonzales has the trophy cleaned and detailed and it’s ready for Thursday’s parade. https://t.co/2p1NQYzNPS
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 15, 2023
Finally, there’s a thing for Jokic to look forward to with this parade that he clearly does not want to attend.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/nikola-jokic-lost-nba-finals-mvp-trophy-video/