Denver Nuggets cornerstone and proud Serbian Nikola Jokic is deeply passionate about horses and horse racing, but he is not the most animated individual when speaking in front of a camera. That dichotomy between his personal life and public life was on display during a media session at NBA All-Star Weekend.
When asked by a (seemingly) young Texan about the “kind of horse” he should get, Jokic offered a rather general yet honest explanation.
“The best one, that’s a great idea,” the 2023 NBA Finals MVP and three-time regular season MVP answered, per the Oh No He Didn’t X account. “But I don’t know which one is the best one… the most expensive one probably, that’s going to be the best one (chuckles).”
“I live in Texas, and I wanna get a horse, what horse should I get?”
Nikola Jokic: “The best one… the most expensive, probably that’s gonna be the best one.” 😅pic.twitter.com/OYx7ZoCKap
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 14, 2026
Jokic is probably peppered with questions about equines throughout the year, as that is one of the only things people really know about the man outside of his supreme basketball talents, love for his native country’s music and the fact that he was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial. The five-time All-NBA First-Team selection presumably has plenty of horse knowledge to share, but perhaps this was not the right time or place for him to speak at length about the most coveted breeds.
Nevertheless, this response will add credence to the notion that Jokic is one of the most nonchalant superstars in recent memory. He is certainly not the only outstanding player to exude a reserved personality — San Antonio Spurs legend Tim Duncan comes to mind — but there is a growing belief that the 30-year-old center dislikes attention. A column about his allegedly terse exchange with a Serbian folklore group after last Saturday’s win versus the Chicago Bulls only raises fans’ curiosity.
No one knows quite what to expect when Nikola Jokic is in the public eye, as he is a true enigma. There is little mystery to what will happen on the court, however. The sensational big man is averaging a triple-double for a second straight season, leading the league with 12.3 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game and ranking in the top-10 with 28.7 points per contest. He would arguably be the MVP favorite had he not missed 16 games with a knee injury.
Jokic is a hoops savant and an enthusiastic horse owner. Those sides of him are separate, but obviously resonate with the public just the same. He will start in the NBA All-Star Game for a sixth consecutive time, then turn his attention to the second half of the 2025-26 campaign and then return to his cherished stable when his Nuggets’ business concludes for the summer.