Gronk on Jokic: ‘He’s kind of a uglier version of me, but I would still date him if I was a hot chick’

Former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski hasn’t played in the league since the 2021 season, but at the peak of his powers, he was maybe the most talented player at his position in the league. He accomplished all he did in part because of his intimidating stature.

Gronkowski was hard to bring down after he made receptions and broke his fair share of tackles as a tight end.

Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic is another athlete of epic proportions who’s at the top of his sport. He recently became just the third player in the history of the NBA to average a triple-double over the course of a full season after he put up 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game in the 2024-25 regular season.

Gronkowski gave his thoughts on Jokic on a recent podcast and admitted that he sees himself in the all-around star.

“I love Jokic,” Gronkowski said before being told that he would be like Jokic on the basketball court. “Love that comparison. The way he moves — he’s even bigger than me, but we got similar movements. Also, the way he looks. He’s got like a big nose, and I got a big nose. I don’t want to say this, but he’s kind of a uglier version of me, but I would still date him if I was a hot chick.”

Gronkowski’s halcyon days came when he played with quarterback Tom Brady on the New England Patriots. He and Brady formed one of the more dynamic offensive duos in all of football for many years, and Gronkowski won multiple Super Bowls while in New England.

He enjoyed probably his best single season of football in the 2011 season. He totaled a career-high 1,327 receiving yards with the Patriots that season and led the entire league in receiving touchdowns with an impressive 17.

Gronkowski retired from the NFL with more than 9,000 career receiving yards to go along with 92 receiving touchdowns and 461 first downs receiving (all including the regular season only).

Gronkowski’s NFL days are behind him, but the same sentiment doesn’t apply to Jokic and his NBA career. After all, he just turned 30 years old in February and theoretically has plenty of high-level basketball left in the tank.

There’s also a real argument to be made that he’s on the heels of his top season in the NBA so far from a statistical standpoint, even if he wasn’t named the league’s MVP. Maybe voter fatigue is to blame for Jokic not capturing the award once again, as he’s already won the prestigious honor three times.