Panathinaikos owner says he attempted to lure three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić to Europe

Panathinaikos Basketball Club owner Dimitrios Giannakopoulos says he attempted to lure three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić to his ⁠team for this coming ⁠season.

Giannakopoulos, ​whose net worth is estimated anywhere from $500m and $1.9bn, said in a Euro Insiders podcast released on Monday ⁠that he pitched the Denver Nuggets on buying out Jokić’s contract and bringing him to Athens.

“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. I know that he has one more year [on his] contract.”

Technically, ‌Jokić has two years remaining. He’s due to be paid $59m this season and $62.8m next season – but 2027-28 is Jokić’s option.

“When I asked, he had a certain contract running,” Giannakopoulos said. “This was his last year. I tried to buy out his last year. They ‌didn’t even, I mean, it took a few seconds to say, ‘Who? Greece? Where? What? Bye,’ from his team. But ... let’s ​wait until next year.“

The 31-year-old has spent all 11 of his NBA seasons with the Nuggets and led the charge to the franchise’s only NBA championship in ⁠2022-23.

Jokić has averaged a triple-double each of the last two ​seasons. Oscar Robertson (1961-62) and ​Russell Westbrook (four times) are ​the only other players who have averaged a triple-double across a season.

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Last year ​in the EuroLeague, ‌Panathinaikos posted a ​22-16 record ​to finish seventh out of 20 teams and lost to Valencia Basket in the first round of the playoffs. Former NBA players such as Jerian Grant, Juancho Hernangomez, Kendrick Nunn and Guerschon Yabusele are listed on their preseason roster.