Nikola Jokić made headlines earlier this summer when he announced his intention to go another season without signing a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets.
The three-time NBA MVP continues to insist he plans on staying with the Nuggets for the remainder of his career, but until pen hits paper in Denver, there will be some anxiety about the superstar’s future. While most have considered the ramifications of Jokić testing free agency from an NBA perspective, Greek billionaire Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, who owns the Greek League powerhouse Panathinaikos, is hoping Jokić would consider bolting the NBA for Europe.
On the Euro Insiders podcast, Giannakopoulos claimed he already tried to buy Jokić out of his current contract (two years, $121.8 million with a player option for 2027-28) with the Nuggets and got rejected. But he will try to sign him again next year.
“And the one player who is a dream of mine, who I haven’t signed but I will sign next year. … It’s Jokić! It’s the best player in the world! … People are going to say, ‘OK, now he’s joking,'” Giannakopoulos said after the hosts laughed. “I did make a very serious proposal this year both to his team and to him. I got a rejection. I know that he has one more year of a contract. … This was his last year. I tried to buy out his last year. They didn’t even — I mean, it took a few seconds [for the Nuggets] to say, ‘Who? Greece? Where? What? Bye. But, let’s wait until next year.”
This is, most likely, a billionaire daydreaming about bringing arguably the best player in the world in to play for his team, but with Jokić there have long been people around the NBA who have wondered if he could return to Europe to play closer to home sooner than most would think. Jokić’s fondness for being at home in Serbia is well-known — one of his MVPs was presented to him in Serbia after he was riding his beloved horses one day — and while he may not envision his NBA career happening outside of Denver, Giannakopoulos hopes there’s a door open for him to play in Europe.
Even if Jokić had some interest in playing in Europe eventually, it’s hard to envision him leaving in his prime given what kind of contract will be available from the Nuggets next year. Panathinaikos would have to make an offer to Jokić that would get him to turn down the record 5-year, $360 million extension that will be on the table next summer from the Nuggets.
The highest-paid player in Europe last year made $5.6 million (Vasilje Mičić, Hapoel Tel Aviv), with Panathinaikos paying Kendrick Nunn $5.3 million as the second-highest paid player in European basketball. Jokić will command a salary north of $70 million and it’s hard to imagine that gap can be made up. For now, it’s great offseason fodder and perhaps presents a different bit of leverage for Jokić to apply to the Nuggets as he pushes them to build a contender around him for the future.
