‘Photoshopped’ – Nikola Jokic unrecognizable in throwback snaps as fans refuse to believe it’s Nuggets star
Nikola Jokic is one of the NBA's best ever players.
Although long before he became a three-time MVP and NBA champion, he was a chubby, Coca-Cola guzzling child who nobody tipped to become one of the finest athletes in basketball.
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Jokic is used to exceeding expectations, after all he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets as the 41st pick in the second round of the NBA draft.
In fact when they picked him, ESPN didn't even bother airing the announcement as a late-night Taco Bell commercial ran instead.
The lack of hype from NBA scouts around Jokic was arguably justified at the time -- the 30-year-old's conditioning was rated poorly and made him unattractive to NBA scouts.
As a teen, Jokic drank up to three litres of Coca-Cola per day and pictures of him as a young child show out of shape he was.
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Jokic's teenage coach acknowledged this too, saying his skill was extraordinary but his fitness was poor.
"I knew immediately that this guy's incredibly talented," Dejan Milojevic told Sports Illustrated . "But his body's in terrible shape."
Despite this, he still impressed on the basketball. As others relied on speed and athleticism, Jokic approached defences at a slow pace before unleashing lightning-quick passes and shots.
"He's so slow that his basketball mind slows down and he sees the game in slow motion," former college coach and ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla told SI.com.
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"He's able to make plays because he's not sped up like a lot of young players are."
By 2014, Jokic caught the attention of front offices in the NBA and he decided to enter the draft.
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However, according to Sports Illustrated, NBA executives were put off by his appearance and lack of muscle definition.
It was the Nuggets who took a shot at him, selecting him before he played one more season in the Adriatic League, where he earned the MVP crown.
It seemed like fate he would go on and play for the Nuggets as a picture showed him rocking their gear as a child in Serbia.
Fans couldn't believe the images, showing a child you wouldn't believe would become an NBA star.
"Photoshopped," one fan replied refusing to accept that was Jokic.
As Jokic adjusted to life in the NBA he quickly improved his fitness and began working with trainer Felipe Eichenberger.
This would prove crucial to his development and Jokic was determined to lose weight, even running sprints even after NBA games.
"It's been the most incredible thing I've ever seen," .
"We talked about him losing some weight to ensure his longevity. He would play 32 minutes. That was tiring enough. But after the game, he would still work out hard and do sprints."
"His shirt was soaked after workouts, and he dropped the weight, it's amazing seeing him progress with understanding the game and being in shape."
Jokic began to establish himself as an NBA star once the Nuggets traded center Jusuf Nurkic to Portland to create more playing time for him.
By the 2018-19 season he was an All-Star and it was then Eichenberger tried to convince Jokic of his unlimited potential.
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"It was funny," he said. "I had one of the most heated conversations with him [in 2019]. I told him, ''You're going to be MVP.''
"He said, 'No; I'm not.' I said, ''Yes, you are.'''
Jokic won the award in 2021, 2022 and 2024 and picked up his first NBA championship in 2023, where he was named Finals MVP.
He is also a seven-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA First Team selection.
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The Serbian has transformed into an elite athlete and is far away from his former self.
"He's an ultra-conditioned athlete now," ex-Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said in 2023.
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"The guy can play for minutes on top of minutes and play at a high level."
Fast forward to 2025, Jokic can enhance his legacy even further in this postseason as he looks to spur the Nuggets into another NBA Finals.
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