We know. Nikola Jokic loves horses. It's a widely held joke that he loves horses more than basketball. A widely held joke. He shouldn't be out here in the second half of the season answering serious questions about whether he'd rather have his horses win a championship or whether he would rather win an NBA title. C'mon.
Yes, he does love horses. Sure, he even said, jokingly, that he would rather have his horses win a race over winning more MVP awards, because he's already got three of those. His friend and former teammate, DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins, was the one who asked him that light-hearted lob.
It was All-Star Media Day, and the mood is rarely serious. It doesn't mean he doesn't care about basketball.
ESPN's Malika Andrews interviewed Jokic about the widely held belief that he doesn't care about the sport. And it's being compared to his love of horses. That somehow, his four-legged friends are in higher regard, because after his horse won one of the biggest races in Serbia, he cried tears of joy.
"If you had to pick just one, the horse racing championship or an NBA championship," Andrews asked. "NBA championship, right now," the Joker replied with a cheeky smile.
We can go home now with this topic, Nikola
Andrews and Jokic also discussed his famous quote after winning the Nuggets' first NBA title, "The job is done. We can go home now." Followed up with a question by Andrews, "There are a lot of people who say, 'Well, how much does he care?'"
I know it's editing, but it's like assuming that his statement that the season was over, we did it, we won, job is done, school's out for the summer attitude meant that he somehow doesn't care. Ugh. He answered it with a statement that needs to be taken seriously now.
"I care a lot. Those people, I mean, I think if you don't care for the winning, you're not supposed to be in the sport." Bingo, Joker. He continued, "I think just my personality maybe a little bit is different. But I think I care about basketball, and I love to play basketball, and I enjoy it and enjoy competing."
Exactly. He's always cared. He wouldn't be out there busting his rump in 28 minutes to the tune of 34, 13, and 11 in only three quarters. He's the most skilled player in the league, and he's the best player currently on the planet.
I hope he wins championship after championship in Denver. Not just for us fans. But so the one we call the Joker can get the last laugh about how much he cares about the great sport of basketball.