Nikola Jokic will truly never forget winning the 2021-22 NBA MVP award ... because the Denver Nuggets surprised him with the trophy while he was out riding a horse in Serbia!!
The surreal moment was documented by the team on Wednesday ... showing Jokic was (seriously) out on a horse carriage in his home country when the NBA officially named him the league's most valuable player.
And, when Jokic returned from his jaunt ... he teared up at the sight of the trophy -- with Nuggets video revealing the 6-foot-11 center was very emotional outside of his horse stable.
In the clip, you can see Jokic wiped away tears and hugged all of his family and friends in attendance ... and even earned an "M-V-P" chant from some of them while he admired the trophy.
A dog starts choking off screen as 2X NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, in front of his horses stable, tells the TNT crew that he's "Not flashy". Our king. #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/c5aLAdnb9c
— Ryan Greene 📷 (@RyanGreeneDNVR) May 11, 2022
Jokic went on to do an interview with media members from inside the stables ... where a coughing dog actually interrupted one of his answers!!
Of course, Jokic is used to all the animal chaos ... he's owned horses for years and has talked repeatedly about how amazing the pets have been for him.
The MVP award, meanwhile, is the second one in as many years for the 27-year-old ... and, it was expected. After all, Jokic killed it this year, averaging 27.1 points per game, 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists.
Congrats to Jokic ... and his horses!