Novak Djokovic hugged fellow NBA superstar Nikola Jokic on the court after the Denver Nuggets picked up a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, March 2.
Reigning NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets earned a 124-114 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, extending their winning streak to six games. The standout performance came from Nikola Jokic, who contributed 35 points to the team’s success.
This game saw basketball legend LeBron James become the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career points in the regular season. Last year, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record of 38,387 points to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, who is currently in California to begin his campaign at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, attended the match between the Nuggets and Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena.
After the match, the world No. 1 was seen giving an interview on the court when Nikola Jokic approached him. Novak Djokovic immediately stopped the interview midway. Excitement was evident on the 36-year-old’s face as he greeted his compatriot with a hug and presumably congratulated him on his victory.
Watch the video here:
Novak Djokovic on Nikola Jokic: “He’s an incredible guy and the pride of Serbia”
Novak Djokovic and Nikola Jokic have always had mutual appreciation. During a press conference last year, the Serbian praised Jokic as an incredible individual, calling him “the best basketball player in the world” and expressing that Jokic is “the pride of Serbia.”
“I don’t think anyone can do what he’s doing right now. Definitely the best basketball player in the world. I encourage him a lot. He’s an incredible guy and the pride of Serbia,” he said. declared.
In return, Nikola Jokic expressed his admiration for Djokovicstating that there are no words to truly describe the world number 1 as he is a true “master of his craft”.
“There are no words to describe him. He is the master of his craft and probably one of the greatest of all time,” Nikola Jokic said. “He’s the guy who represents Serbia on a much bigger stage.
The 29-year-old stressed that the 24-time Grand Slam champion was an idol for Serbian youth, someone he aspires to be. Jokic also praised the world number one for the impactful work his foundation is doing for children in Serbia. The basketball star also called Novak Djokovic a “Serbian ambassador.”
“He is an ambassador of Serbia. He is truly an idol for the children of Serbia, not only on the field, but in the activities of his foundation. He is the guy you can look up to, I want to be like him. “It’s doing something big for children, for Serbia, for everything. We can’t be compared,” he added.
