Nikola Jokic is officially an NBA champion, and he could not have handled the moment any better.
The Denver Nuggets won their very first title in franchise history on Monday night with a 94-89 victory over the Miami Heat. As the final buzzer sounded, the Nuggets star Jokic pulled an extremely classy move.
Before even doing any sort of celebrating, Jokic immediately went straight to the Heat and shook their hands one by one. It was an incredible show of sportsmanship as Jokic embraced with Heat star Jimmy Butler, veteran big Kevin Love, the retiring Udonis Haslem, rookie Nikola Jovic (who is Jokic’s Serbian countryman), and several other Miami players.
THE FIRST TITLE IN NUGGETS FRANCHISE HISTORY 🏆 pic.twitter.com/e5Bhhoe0cD
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 13, 2023
Before celebrating, Nikola Jokić took the time to shake hands with the Miami Heat players.
World Class player. World class human. pic.twitter.com/GATxOtSKML
— Per Sources (@PerSources) June 13, 2023
Hardly anyone would blame Jokic, who was also named as the Bill Russell Finals MVP, if he immediately started celebrating the title like a madman. It was the first championship of Jokic’s career and the first one in the 56-year history of the Nuggets franchise (including their ABA era). The victory also came in front of Denver’s home crowd and after an extremely hard-fought, back-and-forth Game 5 against Miami. But Jokic made sure to put respect and sportsmanship first and set a really great example for all who were watching around the globe.
Jokic, a two-time NBA MVP, has already proven numerous times that he is the best player in the league right now. Now Jokic is proving that he is the classiest player in the league as well.
