After tearing through the NBA Playoffs on his way to a Larry O'Brien Trophy and Finals MVP, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic just wants to go home.
With the championship parade tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Jokic showed his concern about being able to make it back to see his horse race this weekend.
"I'm gonna ask Josh [Kroenke] to give me the plane," Jokic said while on the NBA TV panel postgame. "I'll put him under the pressure. I don't feel bad at all."
Kroenke, of course, is the Vice Chairman of the Nuggets.
It wasn't the only instance that the two-time MVP mentioned going home in the aftermath of Denver's Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat.
In his on-court, post-victory interview with ESPN, Jokic said: "The job is done, we can go home now."
Then while meeting with reporters during a press conference after the game, the Serbian centre was asked if he was excited about the upcoming parade.
"No. I need to go home," he said after finding out the tentative date of the Nuggets' celebration.
Jokic is known for his love of horses, spending much of his off-season tending to his more than half a dozen horses at his stable in Serbia — where he accepted his 2021-22 NBA MVP award.
The 2023 Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP averaged 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists in the five-game series against the Heat while becoming the first player to lead the entire NBA in points, rebounds and assists in a single post-season.
So it's probably safe to say a trip home is well-deserved after the masterpiece playoff he finished up Monday night.
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