In December, long-time point guard Goran Dragic announced his retirement from the NBA after 15 seasons with seven franchises. On Saturday, Dragic took the court for one last time during a farewell game in his native Slovenia that was filled with current and former stars.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was one of those who took part, and the three-time MVP put on a show for the fans. In surprise fashion, it came via a dunk, one that he set up himself. Instead of assisting a teammate, Jokic threw himself an alley-oop off the backboard, much to everyone’s delight.
Jokic is many things, but a high flyer is not one of them. His 17 dunks in 79 games last season were tied for 182nd in the league, and behind the likes of Trey Jemison, Anthony Black and teammate Christian Braun. On nearly all of them, Jokic barely got above the rim.
When he really needs to, though, Jokic can get up there. And apparently Dragic’s tribute game was one of those times. The alley-oop wasn’t the only fun Jokic was having on Saturday. He also pranked Luka Doncic by pouring water on him during a timeout, danced with Boban Marjanovic and hit a one-legged 3-pointer.
All told, this has been an exciting summer for Jokic. Just a few weeks ago, he nearly led Serbia to a historic upset of Team USA in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics, then bounced back to secure a bronze medal. Afterwards, he partied for what seemed like days with his Serbian teammates.
Soon, it will be time for Jokic to turn his attention back to the Nuggets. Media day for the team is exactly one month away, and then it will be off to Abu Dhabi for a pair of exhibition games against the defending champion Boston Celtics. Their regular season campaign will begin on Oct. 24 versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.
