It was the “same routine” for KJ Jenkins on the morning of Sunday, May 7. He woke up, “spent time with the Lord,” and headed over to the team shoot-around, around 10 or 11 a.m, before heading back to eat lunch and head home to work on his and his wife Nia’s YouTube channel.
Afterwards, Jenkins hit his usual pre-game lift, followed by a pre-game meal prepared by Nia to “get a little energy in (his) stomach” before leaving for the Boråshallen arena in Borås, Sweden, to play in the biggest game of his life.
“Walking out to the game, man, I’m nervous,” Jenkins told the Daily Lobo.
Jenkins — who plays for Borås Basket — put together three straight wins after going down 0-2 to the Norrköping Dolphins in the SBL (Swedish Basketball League) finals, and to only add more intrigue, Borås had lost the last three consecutive finals to Norrköping.
“When I checked in, I think I had two turnovers; I was missing easy shots,” Jenkins said. “I was trying to win so bad. We went into halftime and, (after that) everything just settled in.”
Game 6 mirrored Borås’ and Jenkins’ postseason: It’s not about how you start; it’s about how you finish.
“Once the second half came, we got right to business. I started hitting some shots I (don’t) even know how I hit. (Then) I knew we kinda had it in the bag,” Jenkins said.
Borås outscored Norrköping 39-34 in the second half enroute to a 87-78 win, securing the second Swedish championship in club history.
Helping accomplish that feat — including earning Finals MVP behind his 20.2 PPG during the postseason — wasn’t Jenkins’ most memorable moment — it was catching his wife as she leaped into his hands before the clock hit zero.
“When five seconds were still left on the clock, my wife ran on the court. I thought she was gonna get us a technical (foul) or something,” Jenkins said. “But we got an amazing picture out of it. Right after that, the champagne came out, and everybody was on the court.”
Accomplishing a championship wasn't just the culmination of one season. It was the product of a journey that began years earlier when Jenkins graduated from college, but he had been searching for something much less tangible since then: confidence.
“If you (have) confidence, you’re untouchable,” Jenkins said. “Once I got a hold of my faith, I think (the) confidence came from above.”
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Jenkins couldn’t always attest to having confidence; in fact, it was something he “definitely struggled with at times” in New Mexico before his faith deepened.
“One thing I would say New Mexico really taught me was confidence,” Jenkins said. “My faith wasn’t too strong in New Mexico.”
From 2021-2023, Jenkins played for the University of New Mexico, where he scored a Mountain West-leading 268 points off the bench in his first year with the team, before transferring to UNC Wilmington for his final collegiate season.
Since his collegiate days, his faith has become his foundation, one he credits for helping guide every chapter since.
Jenkins said he “100% knew (he) wanted to play basketball” after graduating from UNC Wilmington in 2024, and going overseas “was (the) only option.” He landed his first professional stint in Austria, with the BK Klosterneuburg Dukes.
“(Head coach Damir Zeleznik) actually called me on my phone and was telling me the role he wanted to put me in,” Jenkins said. “Throughout the season, he wanted me to primarily move to (point guard). I had no experience running a point guard role full-time, so I was nervous, but I was ready to accept the challenge.”
Jenkins said his first year overseas was “an amazing first year of basketball,” and he considered the opportunity “a blessing to go through.”
“You’re in a whole different country, knowing nobody,” Jenkins said.
Through the uncertainty of moving overseas, it was his faith and his wife whom he was most thankful for to have by his side.
“We’re both moving to a foreign country by ourselves — our first time living together.
We’re navigating all of this together. I wouldn’t call it hard, it’s just challenges through life that help you grow. It was just a privilege to experience,” Jenkins said
After signing with Borås and winning a championship in his first season with the team and second year overseas, Jenkins acknowledged a bumpy start to the season, but said he “stayed even throughout the whole year” when facing “ups and downs that came along the season.”
“I’m shooting like 24% through my first eight games, I was getting backlash on social media,” Jenkins said. “Dealing with that comes with (playing), but I don’t listen to the good noise and I don’t listen to the bad noise.”
Jenkins does listen to his heart — one that assures him his joy for basketball is impervious. It played into his decision to come back to New Mexico to play for The Enchantment during the upcoming TBT (The Basketball Tournament).
When The Enchantment began assembling its roster, the Albuquerque Journal’s Geoff Grammar reached out to Jenkins’ father, Kerry, about the opportunity. Jenkins said he never thought twice about coming back to New Mexico to suit up with former teammates.
“I was shocked they reached out to me and wanted me to come play. I’m grateful for the opportunity. I want to be around people that can push me (and) help me grow,” Jenkins said. “It’s going to prepare me for my next season.”
That next season will take place in Spain, playing for Cantabria, with whom he recently signed on July 8. When asked what he hopes New Mexico fans know about himself upon his return, Jenkins didn’t mention championships or any of his success overseas.
“Just a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “All the basketball, all that good stuff can go away. As long as I'm doing my job here on Earth, that’s all I care about.”
Edge Garcia is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @ByEdgeGarcia
