Nikola Jokic’s MVP award has Serbians in Colorado celebrating: “There’s nothing that can stop you from being next Jokic or next Novak Djokovic”

Steve Katich has kibitzed with governors. He’s feasted with mayors. Wined with princes. Dined with princesses. Yet it all pales in comparison to the moment Nikola Jokic was officially crowned as basketball royalty.

“(Jokic) is clearly No. 1,” said Katich, a Lakewood-based attorney and an honorary consul for the Republic of Serbia since 2002.

“There’s a prince and princess (of Serbia), I’ve had them out (here) a couple of times. It’s fantastic. It’s really good to be able to do that.

“But on a day-to-day basis, to have a sports figure that can represent the country in such a meaningful and positive way … he is such a good guy, too.”

Katic’s grandparents were born in Serbia. His family roots can be traced to the community of Zitiste, 90 miles east of Sombor, the hometown of Jokic, the first player in Nuggets history to receive the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award.

“I have family (in north Serbia), and my cousin, he gets up in the middle of the night to watch Nuggets games,” Katic continued. “(Jokic) is a big deal there.”

The 6-foot-11 All-Star is a big deal here, too. And Jokic’s MVP award, presented Friday evening before a raucous crowd at Ball Arena, is an even greater point of pride for the roughly 3,000 Serbians who call Colorado home.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Dragan Kojic, a Serbian native and Nuggets season ticket-holder who owns A Five Star Limousine.

“Not to take anything away from Jokic, we also have the best tennis player in the world (Novak Djokovic).

“Obviously, a lot of people don’t know where Serbia is, and that’s unfortunate. With all the (civil) wars and everything we’ve gone through, it’s a huge accomplishment for these young men who are making all Serbians proud.”

“The money doesn’t get to him”

Colorado Serbians hope their kids, both in America and their native land, start to feel that pride, too.

Velibor Puhalo, a Bosnia Serb based in Morrison, watches and listens to Nuggets games with his 6-year-old son, Konstantin. As stoked as he was this past Tuesday to hear of Jokic’s award, he was more excited about what it means for future generations of Serbian children.

“I hope it tells them that there’s nothing that can stop you from being the next Jokic or the next Djokovic,” said Puhalo, who moved to Colorado in 2011.

“It’s possible. You don’t have to be born rich or in a rich country. You always have a chance to find your way in life.”

There’s always hope. Hope for a 6-year-old in Salida or Sombor who wants to grow up and walk his own mile in Jokic’s size 15 shoes.

“I know there’s probably no person in our community, especially boys or young adults, that doesn’t follow the Nuggets and watch Nikola,” offered Father Radovan Petrovic, who opened Lakewood’s St. John the Baptist Serbian Orthodox Church, a hub for Denver’s Serb community, in 2016.

“I’ll ask my boys, ‘How is Jokic doing?’ They’ll say, ‘He has this many assists and rebounds and points.’ So yeah, we’re excited that he’s doing well.”

Petrovic grew up four hours away from Sombor. He attended seminary in Novi Sad, roughly 59 miles southeast of the Joker’s home.

“We’re proud of him because he’s definitely put our country and the name of Serbia on the map in the best possible face,” Petrovic said.

“He’s probably a good example to many of the kids and young adults both here and in Serbia that, he came from such a small country, and was able, through hard work and dedication, to continue to work hard and improve to become the best player in the NBA. That’s really something that should be a sign of inspiration to younger generations — that if they work hard, their dreams, their goals, they can definitely achieve them.”

Jokic isn’t the only basketball star from Serbia forging a new path.

Vasilije Micic, a guard with Turkish club Anadolu Efes, was recently named MVP of the EuroLeague, an award Dallas star Luka Doncic won as a member of Real Madrid in 2018.

“So considering how small a country we are, and all the struggles in the past, definitely, our sportsmen shed some positive light on our country,” Petrovic said, “and brings some positive excitement to all of us.”

Petrovic’s sons have met the MVP, and the family’s collection of signed Jokic jerseys are treasured keepsakes. Kojic’s agglomeration of Joker memorabilia is headlined by a pair of blue shoes and a basketball autographed by the Nuggets center.

“God bless him and his family for staying grounded and staying humble,” Kojic said of Jokic, “because a lot of (superstars) forget where they come from. He has not done that. He definitely has been humbled and grounded. The money doesn’t get to him.”

“He’s not all up in the sky”

The Joker’s Serbian fans in Denver don’t see the MVP award changing him, either. Or his priorities. Family. Horses. Fishing. Ping-pong.

“He’s down-to-Earth,” Petrovic said. “He’s not all up in the sky.”

Jokic’s ascent to basketball aristocracy hasn’t been lost on the royalty in his native land. During a 2018 visit to Serbia, Katich brought along a 4XL white Jokic Nuggets jersey, inviting Serbs to sign it and pose for pictures with the giant emblem of Denver’s biggest basketball star.

The first people to autograph the thing: HRH Crown Prince Alexander and HRH Crown Princess Katherine.

Game recognizes game.

And royalty recognizes royalty.

“They could’ve both fit inside of it,” Katic recalled.

While Jokic was being feted by the NBA early last week, Katich noted, the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal upheld the life sentence of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, nicknamed “The Butcher of Bosnia,” on charges of genocide.

“I saw a posting that somebody did on Facebook, where the post says, ‘Maybe Nikola Jokic will be what people think of when they think of that area, rather than Ratko Mladic,’” Katich said. “Which is how I feel.

“It’s good to have a guy who has his demeanor, his personality. He seems almost free. It’s so refreshing.”

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