After spending 14 years in the NBA, JJ Barea decided on the next logical basketball step. To become a coach.
A one-time champion started his coaching career in 2023 with the Puerto Rican team Guaynabo Mets. Roughly two years later, the former point guard came back to the best league in the world.
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Last season, Barea served as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets. With his experience and longevity in the league, he definitely had the knowledge to share with his players and make some things easier for them.
Still, there is one guy who made his first coaching job in the NBA easier from the start.
Nikola Jokic.
For Barea, it is really easy to work with Jokic
It is totally normal for most players to have days when they are less motivated. If tiredness kicks in, there can be complaints and the training starts to go in the wrong direction immediately.
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That is where assistant coaches step up. But with Jokic, it seems none of it is necessary, as tiredness or lack of work do not exist in his world, at least, that’s what JJ is saying.
“It’s very easy to work with him. He comes and says, ‘I’m going to do my job; I’m going to make everyone better.’ And we get to it, he doesn’t complain,” said Barea, thus destroying the perspective that Jokic doesn’t work hard on his game.
Jokic is first in every category
The top players in the league earned their status for a reason. Even though Jokic, at first glance, looks like he doesn’t care about basketball, he puts in the most work of all of them.
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About a month ago, the Joker himself pointed out that he barely takes any days off from training, constantly trying to improve. If that wasn’t good enough proof, Barea had a chance to witness hours of training from the first row.
“He’s the one who work the hardest. He’s the one who works the most on his body. The one who shoots the most. Practices his shot. The one who wants to compete the most,” explained Barea.
Related: “Why is he permitted to behave like this?” – Fans blast LeBron James for disrespecting national anthem
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Barea sees a lot of similarity between Jokic and Dirk Nowitzki
When it comes to witnessing European Bigs change the game, Barea saw it up close. Before working with Jokic, JJ spent a decade playing with Dirk Nowitzki on the Dallas Mavericks and constantly seeing him put in the work. It almost sounds surreal that a former Puerto Rican player, after experiencing practically his whole career with one All-time European great, goes to the new organization and works with another.
“He was a lot like Dirk Nowitzki. The one who trained the most, competed the most. If the team won, he was the happiest. The numbers didn’t matter. And that’s how Nikola Jokic reminds me a lot of him,” explained Barea.
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In the NBA, often the narrative is that the best players try to pump up their numbers. The two best players Barea has been surrounded by couldn’t care less about how much they scored, assisted, or rebounded.
And that mindset enabled both Jokic and Nowitzki to lead their teams to the NBA Championship.
Related: Jalen Brunson on his attitude before becoming a superstar: “Hey, I’m filling JJ Barea’s role”
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.