Nikola Jokić loves his horses.
But he also loves winning the NBA championship.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews asked the Denver Nuggets star if he’d rather win another title with the Nuggets or his horses, and he said, “NBA championship right now.”
Andrews was not the only one to ask Jokić a horse-related question during All-Star Weekend. His former Nuggets teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, also asked him during a press conference whether he would rather have his horses win every year or add another MVP to his collection.
After moving past his initial delight that it was Cousins asking the question, Jokić said he’d rather his horses win since he already has three MVPs:
Jokić’s love of horses is no secret, and he and the media clearly had some fun with it during All-Star Weekend.
But everything in the NBA builds toward that title, which he knows after leading the Nuggets to the championship in 2022-23. It is his only championship to this point, but Denver figures to be on the short list of realistic contenders again come playoff time and currently sits in third place in the Western Conference standings.
Jokić is on pace to be an all-time great with three MVPs, an NBA Finals MVP, seven All-NBA selections and eight All-Star selections on his resume, and a second championship would only bolster his standing among the league’s icons.
And he’d still rather experience that championship feeling on the court than with his horses.