Nikola Jokić looks prouder of winning a horse race than NBA championship

Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić is widely considered as the best player in the NBA. The irony, everybody acknowledges that it looks like he treats it as a regular nine-to-five job.

When Jokić is not dominating your favorite NBA team during the season, he spends his offseason at home in Serbia, where he has a hobby with horse racing. At times, he seems to have more interest in horses than he does basketball. There have been times during press conferences where he's mentioned missing his horses and even his teammate, Jamal Murray, discussing Jokić looking at horse film during practices.

Not too long ago, one of Jokic's horses won a race, and Jokic could not hold back on how proud he was, crying tears of joy with this achievement.

When comparing this to his reaction to winning the championship, which is the ultimate achievement in the NBA, he didn't shed one tear?

Does Jokic prefer horse racing more then basketball?

Despite being a 7-foot juggernaut of a center in the NBA, he is one of the most relatable athletes in sports. There's nothing people love more from celebrities or athletes is when they act like a normal human. In the cases for a lot of people, their jobs aren't their passions, and their job pays for the things that are their passions.

In the case of Jokić, playing basketball better than anyone, making $55 million next season, certainly helps pay for the expenses of owning multiple racehorses. However, that does not mean he prefers horse racing more than basketball.

Jokić is a three-time MVP, has had seven All-Star and All-NBA selections, the 2023 Finals MVP, just put together one of the greatest seasons of all time, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists on .576/.410/.800, and is putting together what could be one of the greatest careers of all time. In the Olympics, he almost took down one of the best U.S. rosters they've ever had. This cannot happen without enjoying what you do.

Despite all the comments about horse racing, Jokić is one of the most passionate players in the league. He's constantly arguing with referees, he's getting better every year, and cares a lot about winning. Otherwise, he wouldn't be getting better, and he wouldn't care about how the games are being called.

We've seen multiple players across the league who've only cared about going to league to get their money. Once they get their money, they stop caring about getting better or winning. Which is evidently not the case for Jokić.