Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the world at the moment, having just won the NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 and brought home the Finals MVP title.

During his playing career, Nikola Jokic has many nicknames such as “Big Honey”, “The Cookie Monster” or “The Joker”. In particular, the nickname “The Joker” is the most famous name, most often associated with the Serbian superstar.

So where did the nickname “The Joker” come from? Let’s find out with The Sporting News in the article below.

Where did Nikola Jokic’s nickname “The Joker” come from?

“The Joker” is the name of a villain in the popular DC Comics superhero comic series, and one of Batman’s most famous enemies. In fact, another Serbian superstar once had a similar nickname, Novak Djokovic with the nickname “Djoker”.

As for Jokic, his nickname “The Joker” has its roots in 2019. One of Jokic’s teammates at the time, Mike Miller, posted a status line on Twitter and called the Serbian star “Joker”.

According to Mike Miller, he had trouble pronouncing his teammate’s name. Therefore, he wanted to choose a “more English” name and Joker was the transliteration chosen by Mike Miller.

As for Nikola Jokic himself, he also has no opinion when wearing such a nickname. Therefore, the nickname “The Joker” officially became popular with basketball until today.