I never mind professional athletes who don’t get wrapped up in the celebrity lifestyle. It isn’t for everybody, and it’s also a second job. Nikola Jokić wanting to hightail it back to Serbia after winning an NBA Championship is perfectly reasonable, but I do think he enjoyed Las Vegas.

It’s a hard place to not like. Within those four miles there are grandiose — and a few not so much — hotels with casinos lit up like New York City at night. Characters from all over the world are looking to hit it big, or at least to create some memories. It’s also only an hour and a half flight away from Denver. Before his much lengthier journey across the Atlantic Ocean, he, his teammates, and his brothers went out and attended one of the best parties that America has to offer.

While wearing a blue floral shirt that has me further convinced that Jokić has a secret sponsorship with K&G Men’s Superstore, he looked to be having a blast. He didn’t have to be wrangled from the back of the stage to come to the front for the team trophy photo. Nor was he half-heartedly spraying a champagne bottle or casually sipping a Mich Ultra. The man appeared to be in the mood for a party.

Riding horses on a giant compound is a great way to spend the summer. It’s relaxing, he gets to speak in his native language all of the time, and is on no schedule but the one that he sets for himself. That’s all well and good but having an entire Las Vegas’ club staff cater to your every whim as you celebrate a career milestone with your crew, when that Swag Surf hit the speaker that man didn’t need a horse because he was riding vibes.

The party is what America does best. Cost of living is a problem for those of us who don’t have max NBA contracts, but there is a party here with everybody’s name on it if they look hard enough. In the same way there is a blackjack table for every price range, as long as a person can afford the transportation to Las Vegas, and the resort fee at the hotel.

There is no better time to partake in America’s tasty cotton candy than after a momentous occasion. That’s why award shows have after-parties. The NBA lifestyle can be a never-ending party if a player chooses, as long as he is prepared to face criticism. I can see why that life is not rewarding to Jokić.

For one, the best ways to party in his franchise’s home city are snowboarding and a plethora of “plant life.” Maybe the all-star game doesn’t do it for him because while he knows the participants, he doesn’t have a bond with them. Plus the basketball is half-assed.

The night that the Nuggets won the NBA championship Jokić said to Lisa Salters in the post-game interview, “The job is done, we can go home now.” During the press conference, he seemed damn near disappointed when he was informed that the parade was three days after the game,

When he finally stepped up to the podium in front of an adoring Denver Metropolitan Area on Thursday, he appeared to be in the one place on Earth that he wanted to be.

“I know I said that I don’t want to stay on parade, but I fucking want to stay on parade.”

That was just the warm-up. Once the Nuggets were through in Vegas, Jokić had worn out poor Bruce Brown. The Nuggets’ sixth man could handle anything that came his way on the court, but a night in Vegas with the team leader drained him.

Jokić is almost 30 years old, he should absolutely deal with his NBA stardom in the way that he considers best. But for a night in Vegas, he was quite content in the same excess nightlife that many Americans seek out when they travel to the desert.