Nikola Jokic is an underdog who became an NBA champion and Finals MVP after Monday night's Game 5 victory in Denver. 

When Jokic became the Denver Nuggets' second-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, the draft broadcast showed a Taco Bell commercial rather than Jokic being selected. 

A scouting report said he was "an average athlete lacking great speed and leaping ability."

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Looking back, Jokic understands where evaluators were coming from. But when he spoke with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, he had some words of advice.

"They didn’t believe in the fat boy. It seems like it worked out. Don’t bet against the fat boy," Jokic said.

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A viral picture of a Jokic as a chunky kid has been circulating for some time. But he entered the NBA at 6-foot-11, 255 pounds. 

That same scouting report also mentioned Jokic has a high basketball IQ and shoots well. 

That’s been on full display since he broke into the league with the Nuggets. He won two straight league MVP titles before being edged out by Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid this season.

Now, he’s an NBA champion, and he was an easy choice for Finals MVP after two triple-doubles in the five games against the Miami Heat along with his average of 26 points and 14 rebounds. 

Jokic has also had a strong supporting cast in Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. 

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"The Joker," as he's affectionately known, has been all business since entering the league. He was heard during his postgame press conference after Monday night's win sounding a bit annoyed he had to stay in Denver until Friday for the championship parade. 

Jokic wants to return to his native Serbia. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Tuesday that Russia is lacking in drones and other equipment in its war against Ukraine. 

Putin made the remarks during a meeting with war correspondents. The despotic leader told state media that things were missing in Russia’s "special military operation." 

"These are high-precision ammunition, communications equipment, aircraft, drones, and so on," Putin said. "We have them, unfortunately, we lack them quantitatively." 

Putin said production for these weapons has more than double over the past year and by "10 times for the most demanded areas." 

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Despite a rare admission from the Russian leader, Putin asserted that Ukrainian forces had suffered "catastrophic" losses in a new counteroffensive and suggested he could order his troops to try to seize more land in Ukraine to protect bordering Russian territory. 

Putin also said he was not contemplating a new troop mobilization, as many Russians have feared, but did not rule it out. He reiterated Russia's claim that Ukraine was responsible for blowing up a Dnieper River dam that caused vast flooding on both sides of the front line last week in the country's south.

Putin's comments at an open meeting with military journalists and bloggers followed Kyiv's claims that Ukrainian troops had captured a handful of villages in the early stages of the counteroffensive. 

The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, came after Russian missile strikes in central Ukraine killed at least 11 people overnight.

Putin asserted that Ukraine lost 160 tanks and over 360 other armored vehicles, while Russia lost 54 tanks since the new assault began.

A U.S. official familiar with American intelligence told The Associated Press that Putin's comments were "not accurate" and cautioned about putting any stock in Russia's public assessments. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.