Minnesota Timberwolves

Nikola Pekovic loves 'Rocky,' and his teammates are fully aware

Published Jan. 5, 2016 1:17 p.m. ET

foxsports

Nikola Pekovic is yet to play this season, but that doesn't mean he's failing to make an impact on the direction of the team. The literal direction.

When the Timberwolves got into Philadelphia before playing the 76ers on Monday, the team bus went out of its way to head to a Philly landmark instead of the hotel. Why? So, Pekovic—on his 30th birthday—could climb the same steps Rocky once did in one of Sly Stallone's most famous scenes ever.

Growing up in Montenegro, Pekovic was apparently a big fan of American movies. Here's more from Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune:

“Westerns, all these ‘Rocky’ movies, everything,” said Pekovic, who also practiced Sunday for the first time in nearly 10 months. “That’s what I watched as a kid. I liked them and I liked boxing.”

Wolves president of sports performance Arnie Kander organized the side trip when he asked Pekovic what he wanted for his birthday and he said he wanted nothing. Instead, Pekovic got a moment with his teammates after night had fallen, as well as a chance to snap photographs and raise his fists in triumph at the top, just like Rocky did.

It's nice to see a softer side of Pek, considering the Wolves' mammoth center is closer to Ivan Drago in size than he is to Rocky.