Counterattack

1. In the summer of 2004, Darko Milicic invited his old friend to Detroit. At that time, he was selected as the second pick by the Pistons, higher than Anthony, Bosh and Wade. Despite this, Milicic's rookie season was terrible. Although the Pistons won the NBA championship that season, Milicic averaged only 1.4 points per game and played less than 5 minutes per game. He had difficulty integrating into the new environment and had poor contact with new teammates. Therefore, he preferred to interact with old friends. Among them was Nemanja Jokic. He had been a teammate with Milicic since he was 16 years old. Nemanja was very interested in the United States and wanted to play in college there. Therefore, after receiving Milicic's invitation, he quickly arrived in the United States and moved into Milicic's apartment. It was also because of this relationship that he chose the University of Detroit as his first stop in the American basketball world. "Suddenly, I broke into the life of NBA players," Nemanja said. "I have been attending all kinds of extravagant parties." In addition, he witnessed Milicic buying luxury houses, luxury cars, yachts and countless toys in Detroit. It was a feeling of being in the clouds, so beautiful that you didn't have time to think whether it was real. The happy days lasted for a year and a half. Milicic was traded to the Magic, and Nemanja was forced to leave the mansion and move back to the small dormitory. At the University of Detroit, Nemanja played as a substitute for three seasons, and then began his career as a basketball vagabond, mixing in various minor leagues. "I made too many mistakes," he said. "When I was young, I was only interested in having fun. Wine and women were my favorites, and basketball had to stand aside. I even decided on my own not to participate in training. I lost myself." His friends were the same. After leaving the Pistons, Milicic was kicked by the Magic like a ball to the Grizzlies, then the Knicks and the Timberwolves. On the court, he became a full-time player guarding the water dispenser, and his most eye-catching performance was yelling at the referee or coach. Milicic has been gaining weight. In his career, he has never averaged more than 8.8 points per game in a season. "There was too much pressure on him," Nemanja said. "And he put too much pressure on himself. I think his lifestyle eventually ruined him. No one ever told him that luxury cars and mansions were not what he needed most." In the 2012-13 season, Milicic finished his last NBA season with the Celtics. At the same time, Nemanja also ended his wandering in the American basketball world. Seven years later, Nemanja returned to his hometown of Sombor for the first time and reunited with his two brothers for the first time. The eldest brother Strahinja looked the same, except that he had become a professional basketball player in the Serbian national league. As for the younger brother Nikola, Nemanja was a little unfamiliar. Nikola was only 10 years old when he left his hometown. In Nemanja's memory, Nikola was still the child who was frightened into silence by his eldest brother with a knife. "Once, he (Strhinja) grabbed my arm and stabbed the knife to the side of my head." Nikola recalled. It was all because Nikola didn't listen to his older brother during a picnic. "Now that I think about it, it's crazy." Now Nikola is 17 years old and much taller than his two brothers. He likes basketball, but he is also interested in football, water polo, volleyball and light car racing. However, his weight is a problem. Even Nikola's physical trainer would describe his student as fat. Every day, Nikola can drink 3 liters of Coke and eat tooth-sweet cheese pie for breakfast. When Nikola signed his first professional player contract with the team in New Belgrade, the 7-foot big man weighed 300 pounds and couldn't even do a push-up. "He just used basketball as a tool for fun," Nemanja said. Nikola likes to stand in a high position and pass the ball to his teammates close to the opponent's ear. In addition, he plays half-court three-on-three games because this way he doesn't have to be out of breath due to offense and defense transitions. "The first time I saw him play after I came back, he always made some behind-the-back passes that others would never do," Nemanja said. "But others are happy for him to do so because everyone knows that this kid is really good at this trick." But no matter what, this cannot hide the fact that Nikola is a fat man. From the perspective of a basketball player, he needs to lose weight, quit carbonated drinks, and beat his body. And for some reason, Nemanja saw the shadow of Milicic before he went to the NBA in his brother. Past experience told him that Nikola should take basketball seriously. Only in this way can his career have a different ending.

2. Ten days before the 2014 draft, Nikola Jokic's agent Mesko announced on Twitter that his client would no longer consider participating in the draft. The main reason for making such a decision was that the reputation from the NBA was not friendly to Nikola. "He has almost no muscles in his body, and he can't even jump." An NBA general manager said. Such a statement is not groundless. Not long ago, everyone also received such a message: Nikola once rested for a week in the Serbian domestic league due to wrist pain. The reason for his wrist pain was simply that he signed too many names for fans. "It's true that his physical condition is not outstanding." Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said, "But beneath the surface, Nikola has amazing talent." This discovery was made because Connelly saw Nikola's performance in a player tryout camp. At that time, he used his footwork to play around with the future Rockets player Campella, and passed countless exquisite passes to the then draft favorite Karl-Anthony Towns. Maybe Nikola is not the next Milicic, but the next Sabonis, Divac or Gasol? It doesn't matter. Although the Nuggets are interested in Nikola, the draft pick they are willing to offer is really shabby, only the 41st pick. After being in the agent business for a long time, Mesko's experience tells him that almost no team will build a team around a big man with the 41st pick. So he made a plan B for Nikola - join a top European club first. As for the NBA, let's wait two years. Soon, the European giant Barcelona threw an olive branch. In fact, they soon arrived in New Belgrade and reached a contract intention with Nikola. "The contract framework has been drawn up, only some details are missing." Mesko said, "But that observation game messed everything up. People from Barcelona came to watch Nikola play. In that game, his performance was really terrible." How bad was it? "I only got 4 points and 3 rebounds. And I didn't play defense." Nikola said. So, the Barcelona people went back. And then... nothing happened. "But I think it may be God's will. Because if it wasn't like this, I might be in Barcelona now." When the door of opportunity was reopened to the Nuggets, they launched a crazy pursuit of Nikola. They went to New Belgrade 8 times in a row. General Manager Connelly repeatedly threw stories about building a "Rocky Mountain Balkan country" to Mesko and Nikola: the team hired Ognjen Stojakovic, a famous coach from Serbia; they also have a big man from Bosnia, Nurkic; oh, by the way, Lithuanian basketball legend Arturas Karnisovas is now the team's assistant general manager... Under such pursuit, Nemanja, the second brother who likes American culture, and his girlfriend who plays volleyball in Oklahoma, also joined the Nuggets' lobbying group. But Nikola was still very entangled. It seemed that he was nostalgic for the forest outside Sombor. But in fact, because of the previous evaluations from the NBA, he was worried about his physical condition and whether he could reach the NBA level. "In the end, Arturas played a decisive role." Mesko said. In fact, Arturas just asked Nikola a question: "Your skills are impeccable, the only problem is your body. But where can you make your body stronger? NBA or European league?" The answer is self-evident. Before boarding the plane to the Pepsi Center, Nikola finished his last cup of Coke.

3. Coming to the United States again, there is no villa, no luxury car, no yacht. The three basketball brothers of the Jokic family squeezed into a small apartment with only three bedrooms. Later, Nikola's girlfriend also moved in. In the limited space, the three brothers still set up a basketball hoop. "This space may be a little small for us." Nikola said, "But it's enough to play one-on-one." Every time the Nuggets play at home, the eldest brother Strahinja will attend, sitting in the audience and yelling at Nikola on the court in Serbian that others can't understand: Be alert! Lower your waist! Raise your hands! Others stay away from this big man who looks a little crazy. "They think we look fierce and sound even fiercer." Nemanja said, "But it's not bad, we are not cursing him (Nikola)." Last season, Nikola's two brothers also went to some Nuggets away games, but they never took a plane to go, but preferred to drive a rented car to and from Denver, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York. "Nikola has no choice whether he wants us to be around him all the time," Nemanja said. "He's smart, and I believe he won't go astray. But this is an extraordinary time, and I want to give him all the help he can." And this help was what no one gave Nemanja back then. "So I always tell him, 'You're living in a dream now. Don't take it for granted. Don't make the same mistakes we made back then.'" With such care, Nikola slowly changed. When he first walked into the Nuggets' training hall, he saw teammate Faried dunking fiercely. "This is not something I can do," Nikola said to himself. And in that summer league and preseason, his performance was mediocre. "An ordinary player," said the team coach Mike Malone, recalling his first impression of Nikola. But under the urging of his two brothers, Nikola began to actively cooperate with the training plan of physical coach Steve Hayes. Every day, he ate 7 low-fat healthy meals as required. And he has been doing strength and conditioning training. Soon, Nikola's weight dropped from 290 pounds to 250 pounds. Suddenly, Nikola felt that he could dunk like Faried. "Does he look like Jordan? Of course not," Hayes said. "Does he have super jumping ability? No way." But can he become the best pass center in the NBA? Of course. "I believe that in the sport of basketball, the muscles you really need are not on your body," Nikola said, "but in your brain." Compared with the new generation of young players who are in the limelight, Nikola still seems a little slow. "But I just have a way to slow them down," Nikola said, "Let them get into my rhythm." Whether he leads a fast break or follows a fast break, whether he is standing in the high post or low post, as long as he gets the ball, time will stop for him. Then, he will perform a deductive running deduction for everyone on the court. "I know my teammates better than the opponent," he said, "So when I see them for the first time, I know where they will be in the next second. Then, I don't need to see them again." Indeed, Nikola only needs to pass the ball to the predetermined location. The impact on the entire team is subversive. Last season, Nuggets guard Gary Harris made a surprising discovery. As long as he made a simple off-ball cut, he would get a simple scoring opportunity from Nikola. Others are not fools. They saw it and envied it. "'Wow, we also want to have such an opportunity.' Everyone started to think so." Coach Malone said, "So now, everyone started to cut." It is for this reason that Malone finally decided to adjust the team's lineup, let Nikola serve as the team's main center, and the original starter Nurkic became a substitute. After this change, the Nuggets' average points per game jumped to third in the league. In January, Nikola averaged 23.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game for the team. But even better than these traditional data is his 26.3 efficiency value. This number ranks first among all centers in the league and 10th among all players. Even James' efficiency value ranks behind Nikola. However, his shortcomings on the defensive end are still obvious. In fact, this is also a common problem for the Nuggets. The team ranks second in the league in the opponent's hit rate. For Malone, a coach known for his defensive skills, this is indeed a headache. "I told my father about this distress." Malone said, "and he told me that your current lineup is the most efficient on the offensive end. So, your best defense is offense." Although Malone does not like scores like 120 to 115, his coaching logic has also changed. "When I was fired by the Kings, people said that I was playing basketball in the 80s." Malone said, "And I told them that I don't hate offense. I'm here to win, just playing to the strengths of the lineup." Now, the strength of the team he coaches is Nikola Jokic. Just after Nikola scored his first triple-double in his career and the team's first triple-double in the past four years, Malone was excited. He rushed into the locker room, hugged Nikola, who was naked at the time, and gave him the game ball of this game as a souvenir. This caused laughter among the people present. Although no one currently regards the Nuggets as a team that can compete in the playoffs, after missing the playoffs for four years, the team started winning again, and laughter was heard in the locker room again. As for Nikola's brother Nemanja, he still keeps in touch with Milicic. Last June, he celebrated his 31st birthday. But when talking about this old friend with his brother, Nemanja still said the most: Don't go the wrong way like us, whether on or off the court.