The Denver Nuggets are reigning NBA Champions and looking to win another title with a core headlined by two-time Most Valuable Player award winner Nikola Jokić. Currently in his ninth year in the NBA, the perennial All-Star is considered by many basketball experts to be one of, if not the best player in the sport, but there is a certain enigma surrounding him that fascinates basketball fans.
Jokić recently sat down with teammate Michael Porter Jr. on his podcast, Curious Mike, that has featured various NBA players throughout the regular season. During their conversation, Jokić discussed how he handles fame in the United States and gave a candid response towards how players, personnel and the league itself profit from the sport.
“I really don’t like this life because at the end of the day, we are just basketball players, so we are just good at what we are doing,” Jokić said. “Media is something that is around us, and of course we’re getting paid because of the media; because of the popularity. But being famous – I think some people like it; some people don’t. When I finish my career, I really wish nobody knows me and I really wish my kid or kids in the future really remember me as a dad, not as a basketball player.”
The NBA is in the midst of its penultimate season under the current national television media rights deal with The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) and Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT/TBS), which is collectively valued at an average of $2.66 billion annually. There are various media companies reportedly interested in doing business with the league, which will commence with a 45-day negotiating window with existing rightsholders starting on March 9, 2024.
Nikola Jokić, who is in the first year of a five-year extension worth just over $276 million, is cognizant of the fact that these outlets have interest in the league and serve as a significant source of revenue. In fact, media encompasses about a quarter of the league’s total revenue, which equated $10 billion last season.
“I just love the way he operates and the way he thinks about life in general, and he’s got a great perspective,” morning show co-host Mark Schlereth said on Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan. “He’s right – it is the media; it is the television networks. That’s what creates the astronomical amounts of money, and he gets that, so he’s going to do what he does and he’s going to do what he has to do or what he’s required to do, but when it’s over, man, that dude is not looking to be anybody’s television guy.”
The Nuggets are currently the 15th most valuable franchise in the Association, worth approximately $3.38 billion according to valuations by Forbes. Nikola Jokić has been named to an All-NBA team five times throughout his career and was the Most Valuable Player in the 2023 NBA Finals, helping his team hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in a five-game series defeat of the Miami Heat.
