How did Nikola Jokic get nickname Joker? Denver Nuggets star's former teammate spills beans on iconic moniker

How Nikola Jokic got the nickname Joker , his former Denver Nuggets teammate, has the answer to this. Mike Miller, the former Nuggets guard, appeared on the Podcast P with Paul George and spilled beans over the birthing of the iconic nickname Jokic got. He also revealed how Jokic developed himself into a bankable NBA star .


Former Denver Nuggets revealed how Nikola Jokic’s nickname Joker was conceived

Former NBA star Mike Miller appeared on Podcast P with Paul George with his unlimited stock of memories from his playing years. He entertained the listeners with various interesting trivia about the famous games in which he participated. One such trivia that stood out was how Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic got his iconic nickname Joker.


Speaking about the popular moniker and its origin, he said:


“Yeah, I gave him the nickname the Joker one because I couldn't say Jokerish pass the f**king ball. So I said Joker pass the ball and his personality man and and and you know it though like his personality and the way he plays it's like a joker like like every time I saw like man that's a joke man that's a joke. Yeah. I'm like man. So but his personality his game and I literally couldn't say Jokic fast enough to pass it. So the Joker was it.”

Mike Miller reveals how he came up with Jokic's 'Joker' nickname 🃏

"I literally couldn't say, 'Jokic past the f***ing ball.'"@Pick6 pic.twitter.com/mipyDrZXvQ

— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) June 2, 2025

Further, he quipped, “Yeah, I should have trade I should have trademarked that. I wasn't on my I wasn't on my business. I wasn't on my business acumen. I should have trademarked him. Yeah. Facts. He making 75 million. He don't need that. You know what I mean?”

As per the player’s revelation on the podcast, Miller’s inability to pronounce Jokic correctly while asking to pass the ball led to his coining the nickname. The nickname remained stuck to Jokic throughout his career.


Mike Miller explained how Nikola Jokic built his NBA reputation

In the same podcast, Miller explained what was unique about Nikola Jokic as a rookie. Nikola’s discipline, devotion, and passion for playing helped him become a top-notch player. Speaking about the role of healthy habits and discipline that shaped Nikola Jokic into a killer machine, he said:


“I will say this though fellas for real though like all that all that he doesn't really care about basketball talk about routines and habits that man literally was, I mean I was always like

the first one he was literally there every single day at the same time with his with the trainer Auggie in Denver doing the same thing every single day like it's not a secret i tell people I play with Kyrie in Cleveland and I seen Joker in Denver like the crazy [ __ ]”


He further said, “They do in a game like man that's crazy no he worked on that like those little floaters that always hang on a rim and go in he shoots that thing a thousand times a million times.






He added sharing why Jokic is the best player in basketball, “Ray Allen shot against uh against uh San Antonio he laid on the floor and shot that thing a hundred times a day you know what I mean like like it's and Kyrie I saw him do that like oh man a crazy thing no he does that every single day and so Joker they talk about him he is having a time of his life he even said on the press conference going to be a lot of beers for the next couple days but he's a grinder in the gym man that's why he's I think what the best player in basketball .”


“yeah yeah yeah you you could tell it's routine right like you don't make no look passes if you know someone's not going to be there like you could tell a lot of his stuff is routinely just the the game is just too easy like you could tell that he goes through extensive work so the games can look like the way they do.”


Also Read: Nikola Jokic’s offseason plans revealed after Nuggets fall to Thunder in Game 7 against Oklahoma City Thunder


Mike Miller played with Nikola Jokic when Jokic was in his rookie year. His talent and dedication led Miller to brand him as a player worthy of being an All-Star and Hall of Famer in the future. Miller spoke at length about it in a segment of the podcast. Miller and Jokic played together from 2015-2017. Miller admired Jokic’s dedication and acknowledged his exceptional abilities.