The bid to bring Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic back to Europe was, in fact, real.
The Nuggets star made headlines last week after a revelation made by Greek billionaire Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, owner of basketball powerhouse Panathinaikos. Giannakopoulos claimed that he had made an offer to buy out the remainder of Jokic’s contract to bring him over to Greece.
Giannakopoulos said that the Nuggets, as expected, declined to give up Jokic for any amount of money. Some folks didn’t believe there even was any sort of bid that existed, instead chalking it up to a billionaire team owner making braggadocious claims for some clout.
Jokic’s longtime agent, Misko Raznatovic, has since confirmed to Greek sports outlet Athletiko that the offer did in fact reach the Nuggets.
“What Giannakopoulos said is true,” Raznatovic recently said, via BasketNews.
The Panathinaikos owner’s bid for Jokic’s services may have been legitimate. But his chances of actually convincing the Nuggets to let the Joker go were likely close to zero.
Jokic is set to make just over $59 million next season and has a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 campaign. The 3-time MVP would have the chance to sign a $360 million contract extension next offseason, assuming he doesn’t bolt for Greece between then and now.
