Once upon a time, in a land far away, a tall, pudgy young man shoveled manure from a horse stable, never dreaming he would one day become a basketball immortal recognized around the globe by a single name, in the same manner as Wilt, Magic and LeBron are revered.
“I can’t compare myself to those guys,” Nikola Jokic said Thursday, after being welcomed as a member of good standing in one of the NBA’s most elite clubs, celebrated as only the 13th player in league history to be named MVP in back-to-back seasons.
As Jokic basked in the sunshine of his beloved little town of Sombor, Serbia, I asked the ever-humble Nuggets center to contemplate the achievement of joining Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on a short list of legends that have won pro basketball’s top individual award in consecutive years.