Nikola Jokic Returns To Serbian Race Tracks Days After Bronze Medal Win At The Olympics, But It’s A Horse Racing Track

Just days after leading Serbia to the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics, Nikola Jokic was seen back in Serbia at the horse racing tracks. Jokic was seen walking around with a drink in his hands before he went down to take a seat and watch the horses race, one of his favorite pastimes.

Nikola Jokic is already back in Serbia and at the horse racing track 😂🐎

(via @arenasport_tv)pic.twitter.com/2zKfhAXI0o

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 11, 2024

Jokic has been known for his deep admiration of horses, and this admiration has even become somewhat of a running joke among fans. Some fans joke that Jokic seems happier when he is with his horses or watching them race than when he is playing basketball.

And considering he immediately rushed back from Paris to watch the horses in his home country, he isn’t exactly desperate to dispel that notion. But Jokic has earned some rest and downtime after a hard NBA season followed by his deep Olympic run, especially after what was a controversial finish to Serbia’s game against Team USA.

Serbia lost to Team USA in a close game to determine which team would face France in the gold medal game. There was some controversy surrounding the officiating against Serbia, with their head coach Svetislav Pesic speaking about the disrespect he and his players received from the referees after the game.

Bogdan Bogdanovic also complained about how the referees were biased against Serbia.

Things got so heated about the decision-making from the referees that even the Serbian president posted a clip of a missed call and blatantly claimed that the game was rigged against Serbia. Even one former referee said that the refs in the Serbia-USA game missed some calls.

Nikola Jokic Made History At The Olympics.

Jokic has stayed relatively quiet about the entire officiating debacle from their game against Team USA. Instead, he just buckled down and focused on winning the bronze medal game against Germany. Jokic made history in that game, becoming the fourth player in Olympic history to record a triple-double in that game.

Jokic put up 19 points, along with 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. It was a great performance to help secure the bronze medal for Serbia. While Serbia will be upset about not being able to win the gold medal, they can take some consolation in walking away with a podium finish.

Jokic will spend the next few weeks to try and recalibrate and recharge his batteries ahead of the new NBA season. He will return to a fairly different Denver Nuggets team, with Russell Westbrook now joining the roster as a free agent.

He and the Nuggets will be hoping to get back to winning the NBA championship after a disappointing second-round playoff exit this year.

Jokic is still one of the best players in the league, coming off a third-career MVP win. If he can continue delivering at the highest level for the Nuggets, their team will be confident about their chances of achieving a high seed in the West and making a deep run in the playoffs.

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.