People say that we are vulnerable, but the beast is always the strongest or the most dangerous when they’re vulnerable,” Jokic said. “Maybe he woke up the beast.”

Nikola Jokic and Michael Malone's NBA fates will forever be intertwined. Malone was the coach who decided to give an awkward pass-first center from Serbia the keys to the Denver Nuggets franchise.

Jokić said he found out about the firings "a little bit before everybody," but declined to further elaborate on his talk with Josh Kroenke.