Nikola Jokic on Raising His Children Like His Parents Raised Him
Jokic reflects on his parents' sacrifices during his youth and says he wants his own children to keep a sense of ordinary life despite their comforts.
Nikola Jokic has described what he wants to pass on to his own children: the sense of an ordinary childhood, despite the comforts they now have that he did not.
"We had late basketball training that finished at 10 or 11 in the evening. And my parents always waited for me. They sacrificed their time, their money, when we often couldn't afford shoes or the cost of trips. When I moved to Vojvodina, my parents often came for a few days to help. They gave up all their free time to help me. Not so much with basketball as with life. I left home at 17 and I was a spoiled third child. I love it so much when they visit us. I go to see them whenever I can. My mother comes to make me mashed potato. Now I can fully appreciate everything they did for me. That's what I want to do for my children. My parents passed on to me the values I want to pass on to my children. I'd like to hold on to that feeling of normality. My children's basic standard of living is already set high. A pool, a good car — that's their reality. We didn't have a car. I'd like them not to lose that understanding of ordinary life," Jokic said.
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