Nikola Jokic rejects role-model label: “They shouldn’t look up to me”

Nikola Jokic believes family and friends have a greater influence on young people than professional athletes.

“Some people might not like it, but I don’t think they should be looking up to me,” the Denver Nuggets star said on the Jao Mile Podcast.

Jokic argued that responsibility primarily belongs to those closest to children: “People tell me, ‘They look up to you.’ Well, they shouldn’t. I didn’t look up to others either.”

However, he acknowledged learning from Wilson Chandler, Jameer Nelson and Mike Miller early in his career: “They were at the gym every single day. I just copied them, and over the years you develop your own routine.”