Nikola Jokic won the 2023 NBA Finals MVP trophy…and then he lost it.
In a sitdown interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews that was released on Wednesday, the Denver Nuggets center revealed that he’s misplaced the prestigious piece of hardware. Jokic said he left it in the Nuggets equipment manager’s room, but it wasn’t there when he returned.
“I really don’t know,” Jokic said of the trophy’s whereabouts. “I left it in [equipment manager Sparky Gonzalez’s] room and it’s not there anymore. So, I don’t know. But hopefully it can arrive in my house.”
It’s not surprising at all that the Joker has a ‘hopefully it turns up’ kind of attitude about the trophy. Remember, this is the same player who reacted to winning the Finals by saying, “We can go home now,” did an emotionless champagne pop in the locker room and was distraught upon learning the Nuggets were having a championship parade this week.
Surely Jokic wants to regain possession of the trophy, but he doesn’t appear to be sweating it at the moment. We’ll see if it can be located in time for Thursday’s parade in Denver.