{"id":369456,"date":"2025-12-24T19:42:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/369456\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T19:42:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T19:42:49","slug":"the-athletic-why-horses-turn-nikola-jokic-from-an-nba-mvp-into-a-stable-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/369456\/","title":{"rendered":"The Athletic: Why horses turn Nikola Joki\u0107 from an NBA MVP into a \u2018stable boy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cNikola is usually in his stable with horses. That\u2019s something that\u2019s his thing,\u201d a friend says of the three-time NBA MVP.<\/p>\n

DENVER \u2014 One of the most viral videos of Nikola Joki\u0107\u2019s career will likely go down of him being selected in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft as a\u00a0Taco Bell commercial played on the screen<\/a>. Another viral video of The Joker has nothing to do with him playing basketball at all.<\/p>\n

Over the summer, a harness racing event took place in his native Serbia. It wouldn\u2019t have registered on the world stage had it not been for the sight of the three-time NBA MVP openly shedding tears of joy as he made his way to greet the drivers of Dream Catcher, his horse racing operation, helping his horse, Demon Dell\u2019Est, to victory.<\/p>\n

To understand that sentiment, it\u2019s important to grasp how much Serbia\u2019s favorite son was attracted to horses in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a saying,\u201d Joki\u0107 told\u00a0The Athletic. \u2018If you\u2019re young and you swallow the horse hair, you cannot stop loving them.\u2019 What I like about them is how they run, how they act, how they\u2019re resting, how they\u2019re smelling. I like to watch them, I like to train them, I like to see them running, racing. The only thing I didn\u2019t do, I did want to race back in the day. I miss that feeling when you and the horse are basically one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The footage of Joki\u0107 crying not only became a viral sensation but also served as a glimpse into a very public and famous figure\u2019s private life. It was a human moment for one of the greatest basketball players of all time that quickly became a source of intrigue.<\/p>\n

Nikola Jokic in tears after his horse won the race today<\/p>\n

Credit: Arena Sport TV pic.twitter.com\/uRnbRi5Vv5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) July 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

The scene created a question of its own: Why is Joki\u0107, who famously didn\u2019t show much emotion after leading the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA championship and couldn\u2019t wait to get out of Denver, suddenly so overcome with emotion that he was crying after a horse race in Serbia?<\/p>\n

Anyone who knows Joki\u0107 knows how much he cares about the animals. He has pictures of horses adorned to his locker inside Ball Arena and ribbons from different competitions.<\/p>\n

Nuggets assistant coach Ogi Stojakovi\u0107 has known Joki\u0107 for years, dating to the pair\u2019s shared history in Serbia. He believes that Joki\u0107 is drawn to a horse\u2019s nobility and can see the pride the big man takes in caring for the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly,\u201d Stojakovi\u0107 said. \u201cI think that\u2019s his first love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aaron Gordon still remembers what it was like to walk with Joki\u0107 through the streets of Sombor, Serbia. Gordon saw the way the locals treated the famous player and the way Joki\u0107 embraced his surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou understand why he\u2019s as humble as he is,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cThey still see him as a stable boy out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon has been Joki\u0107\u2019s teammate with the Nuggets for six years and was a member of that 2023 championship team. He\u2019s gotten to know just how passionate Joki\u0107 is about everything regarding horses, why they matter so much to him and what they represent for him. Gordon knows how competitive his teammate is and that the racing appeals to that side of Joki\u0107\u2019s personality as well. He said that Joki\u0107 having a racetrack in his hometown is \u201cspecial.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he appreciates how beautiful they are,\u201d Gordon said of the horses. \u201cThere\u2019s something majestic, and there\u2019s something really genuine and pure about horses in general. I think it brings him a certain level of peace, and that\u2019s priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he toured Sombor with Joki\u0107, Gordon said it was easier to understand why he has turned out the way that he has, especially in the context of why his relationship with the horses has remained as strong as it has through the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that he lives and the way that he approaches his life in the game,\u201d Gordon said, \u201cit makes sense for him to be the greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a part of Joki\u0107 that really appreciates that. He respects that the animals don\u2019t view him any differently and that the people of Sombor, those he grew up with, don\u2019t treat him differently just because of the accolades he has attained on the court. When asked if the affinity for horses and the racing is part of an escape for him with everything else going on in his life, Joki\u0107 didn\u2019t hesitate to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, definitely,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t look at me as an NBA player; they don\u2019t look at me as a player, actually. I have one of my friends who is still training my horses back home. I was 13 years old when I came there. I was a stable boy, and he still sees me as a stable boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a particular night in early November, the juxtaposition in Joki\u0107\u2019s life between his job and his true passion were on full display. After almost registering yet another triple-double in a blowout win over the Golden State Warriors, Joki\u0107 spoke to a small group of reporters in the back of the Nuggets\u2019 locker room. He was asked about\u00a0Gordon\u2019s thunderous dunk<\/a>\u00a0over Warriors big man Quinten Post that included a crossover of Buddy Hield \u2014 and he doesn\u2019t even remember it. The exchange drew a chuckle from the handful of people left in the room, including Gordon, who was dressing nearby.<\/p>\n

A few moments later, when asked about his love of horses, Joki\u0107\u2019s answer shows more depth. One of the reasons Joki\u0107 was so emotional in the racing video viewed millions of times is because the driver he is seen hugging has been a close family friend for years. It\u2019s the man who helps train his horses in Sombor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny,\u201d Joki\u0107 said. \u201cWe go fishing together, we drink together, we lose together, we win together, so I see him as my friend. And actually, his son is the best man at my wedding, so it\u2019s a cool story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Joki\u0107 leads his horse to the stable after a race at Beogradski Hipodrom on June 23, 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia. \u201cHonestly,\u201d a friend says, \u201cI think that\u2019s his first love.\u201d<\/p>\n

As new Nuggets swingman Cam Johnson finished up a shootaround earlier this season, he stood in a corner inside Chase Center in San Francisco and pondered a question: Aside from family, does he love anything as much as Joki\u0107 loves horses?<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen the clips of the joy on his face. That\u2019s tough to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, like several other Nuggets players and personnel, has had discussions with Joki\u0107 about his horse operation. They respect how much he cares and the lengths he goes during the year to try to follow what is going on with the ones he cares about most.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets happy talking about it, for sure,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Veteran guard Bruce Brown has been Joki\u0107\u2019s teammate during two separate stints in Denver and knows that while Joki\u0107\u2019s passion is pretty unique in league circles, it\u2019s something his teammates have embraced about him because they can see what it means to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sometimes shows more emotion out there than he does during the games when he does something crazy,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThat shows his passion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joki\u0107\u2019s love for the animals is something that Gordon also respects. He wasn\u2019t surprised that his teammate and friend was crying after that race in Serbia.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody sees us as basketball players and athletes,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cThey want to marginalize us and put us in this box that helps them understand who we are as people. But there are a lot of guys in this league that have a lot of depth, and he\u2019s one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As much as his teammates and friends are happy to see Joki\u0107 enjoying time with the horses, when it comes to that specific moment that drew viral attention last summer, Gordon thinks there might have been one more key factor in play that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d probably been drinking,\u201d Gordon joked.<\/p>\n

Wherever the emotion came from, nobody near Joki\u0107 wants it to change. They know one of his favorite ways to get away from the game involves the animal he\u2019s been most passionate about throughout his life. It\u2019s a love he hopes will continue for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI track horses every day,\u201d Joki\u0107 said. \u201cI follow it. I have three, four of my friends that I follow all over the world. It\u2019s a great way to stay off the basketball court, and you\u2019re into nature, you\u2019re into horses, you\u2019re with friends who don\u2019t care who you are. I basically grew up with some of my friends back home, so I hope that love (of horses) is never going to go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friends and teammates don\u2019t anticipate that it will. He cares about the game of basketball and putting in the work to improve day by day, but the horses are part of the fabric of his life. When his friends look for him in Sombor, they know where to find him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is Nikola?\u201d Stojakovi\u0107 said of when he visits Joki\u0107. \u201cNikola is usually in his stable with horses. That\u2019s something that\u2019s his thing. He feels happy there, satisfied and fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Nick Friedell<\/a> is a Senior Writer for The Athletic covering the Golden State Warriors and the NBA. Nick spent 14 years at ESPN covering the NBA, most notably as a reporter as well as a TV and radio commentator. He is a graduate of The Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Follow Nick on X @NickFriedell.<\/p>\n