NBA
Why wasn’t Nikola Jokic drafted higher in the NBA draft?
Nikola Jokic is one of the NBA’s biggest stars, and as amazing as it may sound now, he was such an afterthought back in 2014 that he was drafted during a Taco Bell ad.
Nobody saw it coming. The hulking Serbian in the 2014 NBA Draft had skills, but was very much an unknown quantity to American audiences.
Nikola Jokic was not worth a first round pick to the NBA coaches and owners, falling to 41st overall. But he was such an unknown that ESPN decided that when he finally had his name called out, tv audiences were watching an advertisement for Taco Bell.
The reason for this was made clear by his agent Misko Raznatovic, who said that he found the Serb while reading about him in a newspaper and then signed him without actually seeing him play. The feeling on this side of the Atlantic was that while his numbers were impressive, nobody knew if he could stand up to the fierce competition in the NBA.
It is safe to say that Jokic has become much bigger than anything expected of him. He has matured into one of the the all-time great NBA players and the two-time league MVP is now hoping to bring Denver their first ever NBA title.
Perhaps Taco Bell should invent a new Nikola Jokic taco in his honor. It would be only fitting.