It’s not often you get to write about someone finding a loophole that actually involves literal loops and holes, but leave it to creative NBA bigman Nikola Jokic to shatter expectations once again.
The Denver Nuggets superstar continues to endear himself to romantics everywhere by wearing a banned item at every NBA game he plays in — his wedding ring.
In order to minimize injuries, the NBA maintains a stringent ban against jewelry of any kind being worn during games. They believed this policy to be rather tight, but Jokic has shown them wrong. Jokic’s old Serbian teammate gave him the idea to tie his wedding ring to his laces while playing.
He has so far avoided paying a fine since he wants his family to be at his side no matter what. He also technically isn’t wearing it to any body parties.
The same thing was done in the past by a few other players, such as Mark Jackson and Kenny Smith in the 1990s and Matthew Dellavedova after his marriage in 2017, and it didn’t result in the league-wide violation of rules.
But what if other players start copying Jokic this time, and testing the boundaries with increasingly bulky shoe bling? What if someone’s ring is diamond encrusted and sharp enough to cut someone if the player kicked a leg out?
Is there any chance the NBA would revisit its dress code policy to disallow jewelry even on shoes or other accessories? Or are they afraid of the unflattering press banning wedding rings on shoes might engender?
It does kind of sound like a policy the villain character in a sports-themed Hallmark movie rom-com might undertake.
Jokic and his wife, Natalija Jokic, have known each other since they were kids and are high school sweethearts. They grew up together in the same town of Sombor, Serbia. He’s won two MVPs and an NBA championship since they got married. Wearing the ring on his shoe is a symbol of all that. Does the NBA really want to be a wet blanket on their love story?
We’ll just have to wait and see if the NBA’s dress code policy is adjusted at all to address the Jokic loophole loophole. For now, Nikola Jokic can go on making all other NBA husbands look bad for not doing the same thing.
