How the ‘Summer of Jokic’ was more than just singing, dancing and horses

HOURS AFTER THE Denver Nuggets‘ first championship parade and a night of epic partying in Las Vegas, Nikola Jokic hopped on a plane back to his personal paradise — Serbia.

If the newly minted NBA Finals MVP thought he would slip into obscurity for a few months, he instead found basketball fans worldwide enjoying a side of his life few had seen before. After only two days in his hometown of Sombor, thousands recorded Jokic’s every move when he visited a local racetrack to watch his horses compete in his other passion — harness racing.

And so began the “Summer of Jokic” — 107 days of the two-time league MVP (and ESPN’s NBArank No. 2 player this season) living his best life. Whether it was dancing and pumping his fist in a crowd while singing along to live music or celebrating one of his horse racing victories or belting out Serbian songs while shirtless, Jokic starred in several viral moments that pulled the curtain back on one of the NBA’s most private superstars.

Jokic’s legend grew even larger when the 6-foot-11, 284-pound center deftly executed a front flip off a raft during a July trip on the Tara River that flows through neighboring Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina — perhaps more impressive than his “Sombor Shuffle” 3-point heave over Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis in the Western Conference finals.

That even prompted San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to call his Denver counterpart, Michael Malone.

“What the hell is your guy doing?” Popovich asked about Jokic, according to Malone. “I’ve been in that river, man. What is he, crazy?”

From when Jokic’s shortest offseason at home began on June 16 to when he finally returned to Denver on Oct. 1, the challenge was to try to pack in as much as he could. Time with his family and horses is so vital to Jokic that he surprisingly groaned “I need to go home” when reminded of the championship parade.

It’s why Josh Kroenke, Nuggets team president and governor, did not exchange text messages with Jokic like he normally does during the summer.

“We all kind of left him alone,” Kroenke said. “For him to get away from basketball, be with his family and reconnect with who he is fundamentally is only going to be a benefit for the Nuggets and for basketball because he comes back fresh.”

Jokic, though, didn’t work on just his dance moves this offseason. Even if Jokic claimed he touched a basketball only “a couple of times” this summer, he largely stuck to an offseason routine that has produced two MVP trophies, a championship and a Finals MVP all in the past three seasons with hopes of a title repeat.

“He was practicing and playing with some of the guys on [a Serbian] team right there in Sombor,” Malone said during training camp. “I don’t know if he was in the gym with a ball a ton, but I know he was working and trying to stay in the best shape possible.

“I always [focus on], ‘Is he OK mentally?’ [It’s] always tough to leave Sombor, his mother, his father, his friends, the horses, and I worry about the mental aspect of coming back to Denver. But he’s been great. He seems like he’s in a good place and I’m really encouraged by that.”

If only Jokic could have kept all of the singing and dancing off social media.

“People are bored,” Jokic explained of fans capturing his summer. “Same as [me], they live a boring life so they want to record people a little bit more.

“You’re not supposed to see [all] that.”

“THE SUMMER OF JOKIC” even featured a rare cameo appearance by a teammate.

For the second straight offseason, Aaron Gordon‘s summer vacation took him to Europe and reunited him with Jokic. The world-traveling power forward whom Malone likens to Marco Polo visited London, Mallorca, Malaga, Geneva, Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo this offseason.

But one of Gordon’s favorite stops on his globe-trotting itinerary was Serbia. Gordon, who traveled to Prague the previous offseason to watch Jokic and the Serbian national team play in the EuroBasket tournament, got the full Jokic experience in August.

Over three days, Jokic took Gordon around Sombor, to nearby Novi Sad, a lake house, his favorite restaurants and, of course, the racetrack. Gordon marveled at the culture and the simple life of a city of around 40,000 people. He described how one can walk from one side of Sombor to the other “in maybe 35 minutes” and just how calm it is there compared to the stressful rush-hour way of life in American cities.

“His routine over there, his way of life, very congruent,” Gordon told ESPN. “I could see his peace. The peace of mind translates onto the court. That’s what makes him such a good player.”

Gordon also fell in love with the food and Jokic’s favorite dish: fish stew.

“The food is amazing. There’s huge portions,” Gordon said while comparing Sombor to “a town out of a storybook.”

“The architecture is beautiful,” Gordon added. “It seems like each one of the buildings is unique … It’s very wholesome, their [real] easy way of life.”

Jokic even converted Gordon into a harness racing fan. Gordon hopped and clapped as one of Jokic’s horses finished first in a race and later proudly hoisted the trophy next to his teammate for photos afterward.

Gordon joked that he wanted to place a bet on Jokic’s horse, but the big man said, “Hey Aaron, don’t jinx me.”

Meanwhile in Serbia 🐎 pic.twitter.com/tdIIb0Q8mV

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) August 15, 2023

As he has on the court, Jokic has found success on the track.

“I have [horses] in France, Italy, Serbia — they’re all winning races,” he said. “So I’m happy. They don’t need to win racing. That’s my hobby. I just wish they’re healthy and they run good.

“When I finish my career, I’m going to do that. I’m going to have a lot of horses.”

Jokic, though, still has plenty of triple-doubles left in him. And one of the Nuggets he has developed a connection with is Gordon. Jokic assisted Gordon 155 times last season, second only behind James Harden‘s 244 assists to Joel Embiid, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

“Me and him have better chemistry off the court than we do on the court,” Gordon said. “And that’s saying something.”

One part of Gordon’s visit that didn’t make social media was his workout with Jokic, who keeps his training sessions offline.

“You can see he doesn’t have social media, he doesn’t want to show that he’s working,” Felipe Eichenberger, Nuggets strength and conditioning coach, told ESPN. “It’s nothing against people that want to show they’re working, that’s fine.

“But he’s working back in the same gym that he first started. When I went there [early in Jokic’s career], it’s 100 degrees [in there] with birds pooping on the floor.”

While he didn’t visit this summer, Eichenberger has worked out with Jokic several times in Sombor. With the help of a Serbian counterpart, Eichenberger adjusted Jokic’s normal offseason training to a shorter version (107 days compared to the average 150 days) and sent workout specifics via an app.

Jokic hit the weight room twice in his first week at home for 30 minutes per session, eventually working his way up to five times a week. After the third week, Jokic added cardio twice a week before implementing noncontact drills and then contact basketball.

“He’s the best player in the world,” Gordon said. “He works out like a monster. … His regimen, his diet and how detail-oriented he is with his body, is second to none.”

Eichenberger said Jokic came into camp in “fairly good” shape and that the Nuggets want him to be at his peak come the playoffs. During last season’s title run, Jokic became the first player in NBA history to lead the playoffs in points, rebounds and assists while posting the most triple-doubles (10) in a single postseason.

“We don’t [need] him in top shape now,” Eichenberger said last week at camp. “We want him to progress throughout the season where he gets into top shape when [it’s] the playoffs, and he can do it again.”

A COUPLE OF DAYS into Nuggets camp, Jokic was so outspoken during an officiating rules presentation with retired referee Joey Crawford that Malone cracked the two “were going to get into it.”

Teammates have also noticed Jokic leading more whether through his words or actions.

“He’s been way more vocal this year,” Nuggets second-year guard Peyton Watson said. “… [During Crawford’s] seminar, he probably had 10 questions. Last year, he wouldn’t have said anything, just sat there and nodded his head.

“I think he feels more comfortable and that’s a great thing to see because we want to hear as much as we can from him.”

Malone wants Jokic, alongside Jamal Murray, to communicate and lead more this season. With vocal veterans such as Jeff Green and Ish Smith no longer on the team, Malone needs his star duo to take more ownership of the locker room. Jokic can also improve defensively; he allowed opponents to shoot 68.5% at the rim last season, the worst percentage given up among 29 players to defend 350 or more shots at the basket, according to Second Spectrum.

But his offensive game continues to blossom. He has increased his overall field goal percentage in five straight seasons — second in NBA history among players to take 1,000 or more shots each season only to LeBron James‘ seven consecutive seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

“He’s only 28,” Gordon said. “So he’s going to get even smarter at manipulating the defense [and] offense. … I don’t see anybody stopping him. They still haven’t found the answer for him yet.”

Jokic, though, never stops looking for any edge he can gain over opponents. While many enjoyed the videos of him partying this summer, Jokic spent time online watching basketball tips by Serbian coaches such as Zeljko Obradovic, Dusan Alimpijevic and former Phoenix Suns coach Igor Kokoskov.

When asked why how often he watches basketball video seminars, Jokic revealed why “Summer of Jokic” wasn’t all dancing and singing.

“I think if you want to be good,” Jokic said. “You need to be [a] fanatic in basketball.

“That needs to be your life.”