Nikola Jokic's hometown celebrates the Nuggets' championship

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It was barely dawn when Nikola Jokic’s hardcore fans in his Serbian hometown of Sombor chanted "MVP! MVP!" and celebrated the Denver Nuggets’ first NBA title.

Denver trailed the Miami Heat at halftime of Game 5 but rallied to win 94-89, with two-time league MVP Jokic posting 28 points and 16 rebounds and collecting the trophy for the most valuable player of the NBA Finals.

Every shot, rebound or block the Serb center made sparked loud cheers and shouts in a decrepit sports hall in the small and otherwise sleepy northern Serbian city near the borders with Croatia and Hungary where fans watched the game on a large screen.

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People react watching a live broadcasting of Game 5 of basketballs NBA Finals between Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat in a sports hall in the northern Serbian town of Sombor, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The loudest ovation came when the typically humble and stone-faced Jokic said in a post-game, on-court interview: "It’s time to go home."

Soon, those fans who spent sleepless nights watching the NBA Finals will see him in person as he returns home to take care of his racehorses.

For the small Balkan state of just over 6 million people, June has been a month few will ever forget. A Serbian sweep gave Jokic his first NBA ring and tennis star Novak Djokovic a record-setting 23rd Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open on Sunday.

"It’s just amazing," Jokic’s father Branislav, who runs a local harness racing club on the outskirts of Sombor, said in an interview. "I don’t think this great accomplishment can ever be repeated again."

NU