DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic arrived in character for a first-round playoff game Saturday night.
That character was “Gru,” the protagonist from the “Despicable Me” movies.
Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP for the Denver Nuggets, wore a similar outfit and signature wrap-around striped scarf as “Gru.” It was a hit on social media, with the Nuggets posting, "going to play basketball or going to steal the moon?”
“I mean, I love the guy and I love the cartoon and why not just have a little bit of fun, too?” Jokic said after leading the Nuggets to a 114-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series.
The outfit he wore to the game appeared to be a tease to his appearance in a promotion for “Despicable Me 4,” where he seeks therapy because the Minions think he’s their boss.
In the trailer, Jokic sits on a couch in a suit while talking with a therapist. He explains how everyone thinks he looks like “Gru.”
“I thought I looked really good that day. I put on this beautiful suit that said, ‘I mean business,'" Jokic tells the therapist.
“Then what happened?” she wonders.
“They say I look like ‘Gru,’” Jokic responds.
"Why does that bother you?" she asks.
“It doesn’t,” Jokic insists.
"Then why bring it up? she inquires.
“Because they won’t leave me alone,” Jokic says.
Jokic then walks over to a window and pulls up a shade to reveal a handful of Minions cheering for “Gru” from outside.
“Guys, I’m not your boss," Jokic says.
Jokic is the certainly boss on the court for the Nuggets, averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists this season. He's the favorite to win a third MVP award, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. He was the MVP of the finals last season when the Nuggets captured their first NBA title in franchise history.
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up prior to Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round play off game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — As Ukraine marked its third Easter at war, Russia launched a barrage of drones concentrated in Ukraine’s east where the situation on the front line is worsening. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians in an Easter address to be united in prayer and called God an “ally” in the war with Russia.
Ukraine’s air force said Sunday that Russia had launched 24 Shahed drones, of which 23 had been shot down by air defenses.
Six people, including a child, were wounded in a drone strike in the eastern Kharkiv region, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said.
Fires broke out when debris from drones that were shot down fell on buildings in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. No casualties were reported.
Officials in Kyiv urged residents to follow Orthodox Easter services online due to safety concerns. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, warned that “even on such bright days of celebration, we can expect evil deeds from the aggressor.”
Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to unite in prayer for each other and soldiers on the front line.
In a video filmed in front of Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, wearing a traditional Vyshyvanka embroidered shirt, Zelenskyy said that God “has a chevron with the Ukrainian flag on his shoulder.” With “such an ally,” Zelenskyy said, “life will definitely win over death.”
A majority of Ukrainians identify as Orthodox Christians, though the church is divided. Many belong to the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church was loyal to the patriarch in Moscow until splitting from Russia after the 2022 invasion and is viewed with suspicion by many Ukrainians.
In Moscow, worshippers including President Vladimir Putin packed Moscow’s landmark Christ the Savior Cathedral late Saturday for a nighttime Easter service led by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and an outspoken supporter of the Kremlin.
Eastern Orthodox Christians usually celebrate Easter later than Catholic and Protestant churches, because they use a different method of calculating the date for the holy day that marks Christ’s resurrection.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Priest Ivan, chaplain of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army, leads a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Priest Ivan, blesses Ukrainian servicemen of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, during a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service Donetsk region, Ukraine, early Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Priest Ivan blesses Ukrainian servicemen of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, during a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, early Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Priest Ivan, chaplain of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army, lights candles during a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Priest Ivan, chaplain of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian army, leads a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Food are gathered to be blessed during a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service at the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade compound, in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, early Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
An Ukrainian serviceman of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, lights candles during a Christian Orthodox Easter religious service, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
