Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Nikola Jokic truly cares more about his horses than basketball

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jul 28, 2025 8:13 AM ET

There is now more credence to the long-running joke that Nikola Jokic cares more about his horses than basketball.

On Sunday, the Nuggets star burst into tears after watching his beloved horse, Demon Dell'Est, win the Duzijanac 2025 race in Subotica, Serbia. He would also douse everyone — including the rider, the horse and himself — with champagne in a rare display of emotion.

Now, compare that joy to Jokic's reaction after winning the 2023 NBA title, when he said, "The job is done, we can go home now" with a stoic expression. The Serbian star also seemed displeased about having to stay in Denver a few extra days for the championship parade.

Fans will also recall his unenthusiastic celebration in the Nuggets locker room after he brought the franchise its first NBA title. On Sunday, though, Jokic was over the moon, proving again that his love for horses far exceeds his basketball accomplishments.

An emotional Nikola Jokic reacts after watching his horse win

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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 27, 2025

Nikola Jokic winning the NBA Finals vs. his horse winning a competition.

(via @MrBuckBuckNBA)

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— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 27, 2025

The contrast in celebration also puts into perspective the comments Jokic recently made during his visit to China.

"All my biggest happiness was when one of my horses won a race," Jokic said, via CBV Highlights. "Same thing — all my biggest losses is when my horses don't win. That's my biggest happiness and sadness. It's not basketball. Basketball is something that I'm just good at. But horses is something that I feel the most happiness and sadness."

Jokic has grown up around horses his entire life, as his father operates a popular harness racing club on the outskirts of Sombor, Serbia. Remarkably, the sport of basketball led him to his equestrian life, a story he narrated during his recent visit to China.

"I didn't have anybody in the family who was doing horses," he recalled. "And then one day, I just go to the horse track, and I started loving it and loving it. I started playing basketball, and my best friend, his dad, was doing horses, and so some kind of connection led me to the horses, and then 17 years from that moment, I have 40, 45 horses right now."

The three-time MVP is the walking embodiment of the "first love" theory, proving that basketball will never trump his first love: horses.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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