Nikola Jokic living it up in offseason video, riding something other than horses

A six-time All-Star and three-time MVP, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has cemented his status as one of the best NBA players of all time. He's still adding to his accolades with each passing season, turning even the harshest skeptics into reluctant believers — or at least accepters. At a certain point, one can no longer deny the obvious greatness on display.

What makes Jokic special, aside from the on-court brilliance, is how little he appears to care about basketball. On the surface, Jokic affects a strong 'dad at work' energy. He loves basketball, of course, but it's a fun job. I don't think Jokic loves playing 82 regular season games and two months of postseason basketball, and he definitely doesn't love spending the majority of his year on U.S. soil.

At his core, Jokic is a Serbian man who enjoys riding horses and residing outside the spotlight. If he could win MVP and rake in millions of dollars from the back of a horse-led carriage in a remote Serbian village, that is precisely what Jokic would do.

In addition to racing horses, however, Jokic has another offseason occupation that is sure to leave the Nuggets' front office on edge. Here is Jokic hurling down the Tara River Canyon in Montenegro, which borders Serbia to the south.

Nikola Jokic starts offseason with rafting trip through the Balkans

This is not Jokic's first offseason rafting trip. This one occurred a bit sooner than last summer due to the Nuggets' unexpectedly early postseason exit, but all the same, Jokic is accustomed to the raging waters of Tara Canyon.

Now... is the Nuggets' front office completely comfortable with their $264 million superstar rocketing down a white-water river on an inflatable raft with five other (very large) men? Is that 100 percent safe? Maybe not. I remember when we all collectively panicked about Dennis Schroder's skateboarding hobby.

Denver cannot prevent Jokic from enjoying his offseason. He's an adult who can make his own decisions and render his own safety judgements. I fully support enjoying nature and exploring the extreme beauty of our great planet, so Jokic's offseason habits — hanging out with glorious stallions and experiencing the raw power of Mother Nature on the open water — are commendable. More NBA players who spend their summers off the grid doing "weird," outside the box activities.

That said, we can also expect the natural NBA discourse to take effect. Somebody is going to argue about the dangers of letting your three-time MVP put himself in harm's way. We can just ignore them, though. I promise.

Jokic is probably the most down-to-earth superstar in the NBA. Maybe in all of sports. He is still an absurdly rich man who enjoys all the privileges inherent to that status, but he doesn't really do all the standard "famous basketball player" stuff. We are seeing the league market Joker a bit better — that Minions commercial is pure gold — but he prefers to show up for work, do his job, and go home. We can all appreciate such a simple approach to life, and we can all celebrate Joker's willingness to step outside the confines of stardom and explore the world a bit.