(Two) Joker of All Trades: Triumph in Clay Court Paris, Triumph in High-Altitude Colorado
Sombor Serbia 7.02am / London 6.02am / Washington DC 2.02am
Joker of all trades
Sunday 3pm Paris: Novak “JOKER” Djokovic wins a record 23rd Grand Slam title, most ever in history of tennis - men’s player, and also only male player to win every Slam (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open) at least 3 times.
Monday 11pm Colorado - local time: Nikola “JOKER” Jokic guides the Denver Nuggets to their first ever NBA title. Finals MVP much!
Deserved. A big day in Serbia for sure. Just 2 weeks ago chaos - clashes between Serbia & Kosovo.
A day after Novak Djokovic won his 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open, Serbia had another sporting hero to celebrate on Monday when Nikola Jokic was named Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals after leading the Denver Nuggets to a first championship.
Jokic capped a dominating postseason performance by pouring in 28 points and pulling down 16 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 94-89 at a seething Ball Arena to claim the best-of-seven Finals 4-1.
"It's got to be," smiled Jokic, when asked if this was the golden era for Serbian athletes. "Sport is something in Serbia that put us in front of everybody.
"Now we have Djokovic, probably the best ever, and now we have an NBA championship.
"I think it is a very good moment to be a Serbian."
Djokovic stormed to his third title at Roland Garros on Sunday, beating Casper Ruud in straight sets to stand alone at the summit of men's tennis with his 23 majors.
Jokic was the clear choice to win the Bill Russell Trophy as the NBA Finals MVP after the Serbian big man averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists.
"I think if you want to be a success you need to be bad, then you need to be good, then when you are good you need to figure it out," said Jokic, whose trophy case also includes two NBA MVP Awards.
"There are these steps you need to fill, there are no shortcuts.
"It's journey and I'm glad I am part of that journey."
The 41st pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Jokic becomes the lowest-drafted player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP and the first player drafted outside of the top 15 to win the award.
"I watched Jokic come in early and work and I think he's been described as a chubby teenager," said Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke after accepting the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
"But they underestimated his resolve and his work ethic. He's an unbelievable player.
"I've watched a lot of basketball, played a lot of basketball, Jokic is unbelievable."
================
Thank you, as always, for reading. If you have anything like a spark file, or master thought list (spark file sounds so much cooler), let me know how you use it in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it.
If a friend sent this to you, you could subscribe here 👇. All content is free, and paid subscriptions are voluntary.
————
-prada- is a Helper. Former adviser (President Indonesia) Jokowi for mapping 2-times election. I used to get paid to catch all these blunders—now I do it for free. Trying to work out what's going on, what happens next. Arch enemies of the tobacco industry, (still) survive after getting doxed.
(Very rare compliment and initiative pledge. Thank you. Yes, even a lot of people associated me PRAVDA, not part of MIUCCIA PRADA. I’m literally asshole on debate, since in college)
========
Thanks for reading Prada’s Newsletter. I was lured, inspired by someone writer, his post in LinkedIn months ago, “Currently after a routine daily writing newsletter in the last 10 years, my subscriber reaches 100,000. Maybe one of my subscribers is your boss.” After I get followed / subscribed by (literally) prominent AI and prominent Chief Product and Technology of mammoth global media (both: Sir, thank you so much), I try crafting more / better writing.
To get the ones who really appreciate your writing, and now prominent people appreciate my writing, priceless feeling. Prada ungated/no paywall every notes-but thank you for anyone open initiative pledge to me.
(Promoting to more engage in Substack) Seamless to listen to your favorite podcasts on Substack. You can buy a better headset to listen to a podcast here (GST DE352306207). Listeners on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or Pocket Casts simultaneously. podcasting can transform more of a conversation. Invite listeners to weigh in on episodes directly with you and with each other through discussion threads. At Substack, the process is to build with writers. Podcasts are an amazing feature of the Substack. I wish it had a feature to read the words we have written down without us having to do the speaking. Thanks for reading Prada’s Newsletter.