Denver Nuggets: NBA Announced a Missed Call on 3x MVP in Game 2 Against the Clippers 2 Mar 12, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

'He Don’t Really Give a Crap' – Former Denver Nuggets Center Details Nikola Jokic’s Crazy $300 Million Decision

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 11:24 AM ET

DeMarcus Cousins recently opened up about his tenure with the Denver Nuggets , offering a rare glimpse into Nikola Jokic’s mentality and what makes him so “scary” to deal with.

According to Cousins, Jokic is as nonchalant as they come, so much so that the Denver Nuggets star once even considered walking away from the NBA to spend more time with his horses, even if it meant leaving a lot of money on the table.

“He’ll let you know how he really don’t give a f**k about this s**t. There are games where he’s dropping one of these crazy stat lines… he probably doesn’t even want to be there. And that’s the scary part about all of it.” Cousins said about Jokic via the Straight Game Podcast.

Dec 3, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts after a play in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

“He was like, ‘Cuz, I honestly think I might retire after this contract,’” he continued. “I said, ‘And leave $300 million on the table?’ I told him, ‘Sign the contract and just get fat at worst. Don’t gas up on the $300 million, bro.’”

Denver Nuggets News: Nikola Jokic expected to play for the Serbian national team in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket

Nikola Jokic is tasked with leading Serbia in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket tournament. The Denver Nuggets center joins fellow NBA-caliber players like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, Vasilije Micic, Nikola Topic, Tristan Vukcevic, and Filip Petrusev.

NBA News: Bill Simmons Hits Every Fan With Stephen Curry-Nikola Jokic Reality Check After Crazy Night 3 Jul 28, 2024; Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France; United States shooting guard Curry (4) passes against Serbia power forward Jokic (15) in the fourth quarter during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Serbia will play a handful of exhibition games, starting on August 5, before the continental competition officially begins on August 27. They will compete in Group A alongside Latvia, Portugal, Czechia, Turkey, and Estonia.

Jokic is fresh from another productive campaign, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, and 1.8 steals on 58/42/80 shooting splits across 70 regular season games. The Denver Nuggets center finished second in the MVP race behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.