WATCH: DeMarcus Cousins Said This MVP Almost Retired, Walked Away From Millions

During a recent podcast, DeMarcus Cousins said that Nikola Jokić once told him that he may retire rather than sign a max deal in the NBA.

Nikola Jokic is one of the most unique forces in the NBA. He doesn't have the kind of body most other players in the league do, but his sublime skills make him borderline uncoverable. 

The Nuggets center is already well on the way to a Hall of Fame career. An NBA champion in 2023, Jokić is one of eight players to win at least 3 MVP Awards (the others are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson).

Jokić also marches to the beat of his own drum and seems at times like he can take or leave basketball. Cousins relayed a story during his spot on the Straight Game Podcast, saying that Jokić once told him he might retire rather than sign his next contract:

"Leave three hundred million on the table? You outta your motherfu*ing mind, man.” I said, “Sign the contract and just get fat at worst. Don’t pass up on the three hundred million, bro. No, you can’t do that. No, don’t do that.” He’s like, “Because I just want to go lay in my…” — I believe he called it a valley or something like that — “I just want to lay out there with my horses.” I’m like, “Yo, them horses gonna be there, bro. Go get your three. You can get more horses. Go get the three hundred, bro."