DeMarcus Cousins Says Nikola Jokic Almost Retired From the NBA

DeMarcus Cousins recently revealed just how little the NBA means to Nikola Jokic compared to his life outside of basketball.

Cousins shared a surprising conversation he once had with his former Denver Nuggets teammate.

“A dangerous dude,” Cousins said while describing the three-time League MVP on Straight Game podcast. “What I love the most about Jokic is his personality. If you ever get the chance to have a conversation with him, if he tells you even a little more about himself, he’ll be honest. He doesn’t care about any of this.

“The NBA is maybe his second, third, or even fourth favorite thing in life. In most games where he puts up those crazy stats, he probably doesn’t even want to be there. And that’s what’s scary. It’s crazy.”

Cousins, who played with Denver in 2022, recalled a conversation about money turned into talk of retirement.

“When I was in Denver, our lockers were next to each other in the locker room. I don’t remember who had just signed an extension at the time, but I told him: ‘Your new contract is going to be insane!’ He told me: ‘Cuz, I might retire before that contract.’ I said: ‘You’re going to leave $300 million on the table? Are you crazy?

“Sign the contract and then get fat, become bad. Just don’t miss out on $300 million!’ Then he told me: ‘Cuz, I just want to go back to my hometown and chill with my horses.’ I told him: ‘Joke, those horses will be there. You’ll just buy more horses with $300 million.’”