CJ McCollum Thinks Nikola Jokić Could Never Be A Head Coach
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić got a lot of media attention this past summer after winning the Finals. We got plenty of funny quotes from him, but many people found it interesting how badly he wanted to go home to see his family and race horses.
It seems like once Jokić retires, he will move back to Serbia for good to do what he loves. In a recent NBA.com GM survey, at least one general manager gave him a vote in response to the question: “Which active player will make the best head coach someday?”
New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum and Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN responded to that particular general manager’s vote regarding Jokić.
“Joker would never be a coach. Doesn’t watch basketball at all” McCollum recently said. “Can’t imagine him watching film, like on an off-day to watch film…it’s interesting to see his name on this list. It’s like, can you be a good coach if you don’t watch film? He’s a basketball savant.“
McCollum didn’t mean any harm by the comments and agreed that Jokić is one of the best players in the league. He even talked about how big of an impact Jokić has on the Nuggets squad.
“The way Jokić controls the game, it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” McCollum said on the CJ McCollum Show. “He’s taking six shots through most of the game and still dominating. That shows value to me … He’s super skilled, super talented, and he makes them go. What does that team look like without him?“
I think it is pretty reasonable to say that coaching will not be in Nikola Jokić’s future. He has other passions in life that are probably much more relaxing for him and they seem to bring him tons of joy. Not every great NBA player has to stick with basketball after their playing career.
We should probably enjoy the dominance of Jokić while we have it because once he retires, we probably won’t hear much from him ever again.
