![]() "But once he gets something in his head," Eichenberger adds, "that's how it's going to be." "Like, come on, you can't not eat your mother's cooking." "I actually told him to enjoy his mom's food after games," Eichenberger says. He would change his diet, cutting out as many indulgences as possible, which meant no soda, no beer, no snacks while he played video games.Īn exception was made for orange juice and the occasional bite of his mother's cooking, when she visited from Serbia. Jokic thought about it for a little bit before answering.Īfter every game, no matter how many minutes he played, they'd lift weights. So rather than try to untangle the self-consciousness that the MVP talk was triggering, Eichenberger laid out a plan for Jokic to transform his body.įocus on the work, not what it means to be an MVP. "I knew he wanted to work," Eichenberger says. And the ride to the Denver airport was at least 25 miles. This is a group.'"Įichenberger knew going into the conversation he might touch a nerve. "He's not beating his chest, saying, 'Look at me.' He's saying, 'Hey, look at us. "He's just a selfless superstar who's almost embarrassed by the attention. ![]() "I never coached Tim Duncan, but I always compare him to Tim Duncan," Nuggets coach Michael Malone tells ESPN. ET, ABC), this was not an unexpected response. I'm not selfish.'"įor those who know Jokic, who will be playing in his first NBA Finals against the Miami Heat beginning with Thursday's Game 1 (8:30 p.m. "He got mad at me," Eichenberger says, laughing at the memory. Which meant it was time to start pushing Jokic to an uncomfortable place: superstardom. The Nuggets were in first place in their division. He had won a Player of the Week award in early February. Jokic had just been named to his first All-Star team. "You can be MVP in this league," Eichenberger told him. Or he'd mention that his knees or back hurt after games and would ask Eichenberger if losing weight might help with that.įor years, Jokic had been told by coaches, executives and talking heads in the media that he needed to get in better condition if he wanted to succeed in the NBA. He would text Eichenberger a bodybuilding video and would then joke he wanted to look like that someday. Jokic had started talking with his friend and training coach about getting in better shape. Before games, Jokic often went into Eichenberger's office to escape the noise of the locker room. Jokic was present when Eichenberger's daughter was born - and for all of her birthday parties afterward. ![]() Eichenberger spent a month with Jokic in the big man's native Serbia each offseason. The two had grown close in the four years they'd worked together. And in the winter of 2019, Denver Nuggets strength and conditioning coach Felipe Eichenberger had his pick of long car rides to the airport with star center Nikola Jokic to choose from. The kind of thing a friend brings up during a long car ride when there will be plenty of time to discuss it. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĪ car ride and a Game 7 loss that activated Nikola Jokic into an MVP
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