After adding an NBA title and Finals MVP to his resume, Nikola Jokic is the league’s unquestioned best player in the world right now. Yet, despite some wholesome moments with his teammates, at times, it seemed like Jokic was actually kind of uncomfortable during the Denver Nuggets’ celebrations on Monday night.
I mean, Jokic did make his wishes to go home after the win pretty explicit, but there were more subtle nuances to his demeanor, too.
Take this NBA TV shot of the superstar center standing alone, holding a beer, as the Nuggets’ locker room goes wild around him. There is no simply no way the man is comfortable in his own skin at this moment, and I totally get it.
Nikola Jokic just won Finals MVP and is wandering around the locker room like a guy who just showed up to a party where he knows no one pic.twitter.com/uasFUIgKGm
— SB Nation (@SBNation) June 13, 2023
Heck, we’ve all been here, right?
You’re at a big party with friends, family, and lots of strangers, ideally to cut loose. But there’s just something off. There are too many people, they’re talking way too loudly, and you don’t like the music. You’d rather be cozy in a good pair of sweatpants at home while watching some halfhearted romantic comedy movie.
I’m sure Jokic enjoyed the biggest achievement of his NBA career to date. Who wouldn’t? But he still showed he was just like us, trying and failing to seem natural in a large crowd of people in a tight space.