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The Denver Nuggets have been busy this offseason, adding Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Tim Hardaway Jr. to try to give Nikola Jokic some much-needed shooting and secondary playmaking. Meanwhile, Jokic himself has also been busy, but not necessarily playing basketball (although there's probably also been plenty of that).
Recently, video surfaced of Jokic racing horses in his native Serbia, and after his horse won, Jokic showed perhaps more emotion than he's ever displayed on an NBA court.
https://x.com/MrBuckBuckNBA/status/1949539517238554700
(per MrBuckBuck on X, formerly Twitter, via Arena Sport TV).
The moment quickly went viral on social media.
“Dude celebrated this more than a championship LMAOOOO,” wrote one user.
Another added that Jokic “can’t wait to retire from his side gig that pays the bills and focus on his true love, he’s gonna retire the second his prime is done.”
Jokic has long been known for his love of racing horses during the offseason back home in Serbia, with some noting that he tends to become much more visibly excited about that sport than he was when he won the NBA championship in 2023.
Can the Nuggets win another title?
While Jokic may not be the most emotionally expressive basketball player in the NBA, there's little debate that he's the best right now.
Last year, Jokic very nearly willed the Nuggets to an upset win over the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, but Denver ultimately bowed out in seven games.
Still, with the offseason additions of Johnson, Hardaway Jr., and Brown, along with other savvy signings along the margins, there is hope that the Nuggets will once again be able to compete for championship glory in 2025-26.
Jokic doesn't rely much at all on speed or athleticism to be effective, so it's likely that he'll be a dominant player for the next several years.
Meanwhile, Nuggets fans will be looking for a bounce back from Jamal Murray, who has been sporadic at times during the last two regular seasons, with some questioning whether he is truly good enough to be Jokic's number two option.
In any case, Jokic still has a couple of months to continue racing horses before the NBA preseason begins.
