Jokic is so cool. He is very happy every year during the offseason and does not want the new season to start.

On June 23, Nikola Jokic, the leading star of the Denver Nuggets, has not only shown extraordinary basketball wisdom in the NBA in recent years, but also has become a topic for fans to talk about with his unique personal lifestyle. Every year during the offseason, this Serbian center can always interpret the word "free and free" to the fullest - he is neither eager to engage in training like other stars nor is he passionate about business activities, but instead takes his family back to his hometown of Sonbor, or travels around the world to enjoy pure holidays. The relaxed feeling of "no expectation" for the new season has become his most recognizable personal label.

In the racecourse in the Serbian town of Songbor, Jokic can often be seen wearing loose T-shirts, holding beer, and watching horse racing leisurely. In the summer of 2024, he was even photographed playing "beer table tennis" with his old friends at the local Jockey Club. When reporters asked about their plans for the new season, he smiled and responded in Serbian: "Basketball? That's still early." This casual attitude is in stark contrast to his almost harsh professional performance during the regular season - he just led the Nuggets to achieve the second-place record in the Western Conference last season with a quasi-triple double-double average of 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists.

Jokic's vacation philosophy is an alien in the professional sports world. During the 2023 offseason, he took his wife Natalia and his daughter to rent a seaside villa on Hvar Island, Croatia. After sleeping until he wakes up naturally every day, he either takes a kayaking out to sea or lie on the beach to read books. According to a friend of his accompanying, he deliberately uninstalled all sports news apps, and even the team manager's phone number was set to Do Not Disturb mode. This deliberate approach of keeping a distance from basketball has given him amazing endurance after returning to the arena - he has only missed 27 regular season games in the past five seasons, which is rare in the contemporary NBA that emphasizes load management.

The three-time MVP winner's casual style is also full of "anti-superstar" traits. Unlike James who still insists on training at 4 a.m. on the yacht, and not like Curry bringing a professional team to golf training, Jokic is more obsessed with activities that are not competitive. In the summer of 2022, he was photographed playing chess for three hours in a street cafe in Belgrade; in August 2024, Chinese fans met him who was turning a prayer drum at Songzanlin Temple in Shangri-La, Yunnan. At that time, the 2.11-meter superstar was wearing a colorful woven jacket given by local Tibetans and listened carefully to the Lama's explanation of Thangka art. This life experience that is completely out of the basketball context may be the secret to maintaining psychological balance in a high-intensity season.

Jokic's agent revealed that when making plans before each offseason, the star is most concerned about not the commercial endorsement quote, but "can find a quiet enough resort." In 2021, he rejected a sports brand's $2 million Asian tour invitation and instead drove his family through the Montenegro Mountains; the Serbian national team, which could have participated in the World Cup in 2023, also gave up because of his persistence of "needing a complete rest". This ultimate protection of private time is particularly precious in the contemporary sports circle with a very high degree of commercialization.

Interestingly, Jokic's attachment to offseason will always continue to the opening day of the training camp. At the 2024 Nuggets Media Day, when reporters asked him if he was looking forward to the new season, he said bluntly: "To be honest, I am still missing Croatian seafood risotto." This unconcealed truth has won more favors. Team coach Malone has long been accustomed to the rhythm of his favorite players: "Nicola is like a hibernating bear that needs to be forced to wake up, but as long as you put him on the court, he can immediately switch to MVP mode. "

In today's increasingly utilitarian professional sports, Jokic has redefined the lifestyle of superstars in his own unique way. He proves that top athletes don’t have to market themselves all year round or show a hunger for competition all the time—sometimes, a love for life can become a more lasting driver. As he said in an interview: "Basketball is my passion for work, but riding a horse, drinking beer, and piled sand with my daughter are what makes me 'me'." Perhaps it is this sober self-awareness that keeps this seemingly lazy giant in a terrible competitive state. When other stars posted training videos on social media, under the fishing photos posted by Jokic, there were always fans who joked: "Look, our MVP is working hard for the 'defying most leisurely player' again. "