For most basketball players, winning an NBA title is the ultimate goal. In the case of three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, it might just be the winner’s circle at the race track.
Jokić’s passion for horse racing is well-documented, and we saw another display of it on Sunday. Back in his home country of Serbia, Jokić was on hand to see one of his horses win and he immediately was overcome with emotion.
Jokić is known to have a steely on-court demeanor, but racing horses shows a different side of the Denver Nuggets superstar and three-time MVP. Jokić wiped tears from his eyes as he hopped onto the track to celebrate with the jockey and his horse.
While basketball may be what pays the bills (and fills the trophy case) for Jokić, it’s clear that horse racing holds a special place in his heart. After the Nuggets won the NBA championship in 2023, Jokić’s father, Branislav, told the Associated Press that he had to persuade Nikola to pursue basketball over horse racing.
“And I used to tell him: ‘Son, become a basketball player first, and you’ll become a great horseman later,'” Branislav Jokić said.
Over the years, Jokić has blended his two passions in some form or another. Back in 2023, Jokić brought Nuggets teammate Aaron Gordon to Serbia to watch some races in his hometown of Sombor.
Later that same year, while the Nuggets were on a road trip in New York, Jokić took the opportunity to visit the Yonkers Raceway and meet a few of the horses.
