Nikola Jokic has spent his entire NBA career with the Denver Nuggets, but one of Europe’s biggest clubs made an ambitious attempt to change that.
Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos revealed he approached both Jokic and the Nuggets with a serious proposal to bring the three-time MVP to Greece.
“This year, I tried to make a proposal. … People are going to say, ‘OK, now he’s joking’,” Giannakopoulos said. “I did make a very serious proposal this year, both to his team and to him. I got a rejection.”
Giannakopoulos wasn’t simply checking whether Jokic might eventually be interested in returning to Europe.
He attempted to buy out the remaining year of the Serbian superstar’s contract with Denver.
The Nuggets weren’t interested.
“When I asked, he had a certain contract running,” he added. “This was his last year. I tried to buy out his last year. They didn’t even… It took them a few seconds to say, ‘Who? Greece? Where? What? Buy’ from his team.”
But the rejection apparently hasn’t ended his pursuit.
“There is one player who remains a dream of mine, whom I haven’t signed yet, but I will sign next year,” Giannakopoulos said. “It’s Jokic, the best player in the world.
“Don’t laugh at all. If I don’t sign Jokic, I’m not going anywhere.”
Actually pulling off the move appears extremely unlikely.
Jokic is set to make approximately $59 million during the 2026-27 season and holds a player option worth roughly $62.8 million for the following year.
More importantly, waiting until 2027 could make Jokic eligible for a projected five-year, $359.5 million extension with Denver, which would potentially become the richest contract in NBA history.
The 31-year-old has also indicated that his preference is to sign another deal with Denver and potentially spend the remainder of his career with the franchise.
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