One hour before tip-off, Jokic sits at his locker. Solemnly, he stares at the ground, then reaches for his locker. After ruffling around for ten seconds, he finds his stash. A slight smirk comes across his face. Inside, there are 4 boxes. Each reads “Little Debbie, Cosmic Brownies Big Pack.”
“I like the big pack because it comes with 12 brownies,” he tells us as he begins to take out the first box. The Joker peels the side, and takes out the first individually wrapped square.
He continues, “Did you know I was drafted in the second round? 41st.” This I did know due to my research in preparation for the interview, but I remained quiet to allow time for the remark to settle. “I eat 40 before every game.” He begins to chew on the brownie. “One for each person drafted before me.” Again, I stay quiet while the first goes down.
“It’s simple—the Cosmic Brownie is a perfect metaphor to us as players of the game of basketball.”
Nikola Jokic
For Jokic, the Cosmic Brownie is not just a pregame snack, but a reminder to himself of what he has to prove. Why the Cosmic Brownie?
“It’s simple—the Cosmic Brownie is a perfect metaphor to us as players of the game of basketball. It’s what I structure my game around: a perfect ratio of brownie to frosting to candy. I want to put up points, rebounds, and assists. They all come together for one thing: a win. Each brownie, I feel a culmination of cosmic power grow inside of me. It comes out on the court.”
After the 40th, Jokic thanked us and went out for shootaround. That night, he put up 12 points with 6 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Closeout 