“He Runs Like the Flash”: Nikola Jokic Racing a High-Speed Train in China Leaves Fans in Splits

The National Basketball Association does an amazing job of keeping people interested all year long. Even after the Finals conclude, the Draft is a huge event, and the trade market is always hopping. For the real diehards, the Summer League is like an IV drip that keeps us sustained until the regular season is in view. Summer League is always interesting, but if there’s one issue, it’s that the stars don’t play.

The league’s top players have nothing to prove in the summer, especially seeing as there’s a substantial risk of injury with very little to gain. Instead, the Summer League gives young guys a chance to show what they can do, whether it be rookies just entering the league or role players eager to show they deserve a contract and a roster spot.

What can NBA fans do if the Summer League just isn’t for them? How about watching Nikola Jokic race against a speeding Chinese train?

Yes, you heard that right, the league’s three-time MVP doesn’t spend his entire summer riding horses in Serbia. After all, even in the offseason, you have to stay loose.

Would you rather be watching this or the Summer League? No offense to Kon Knueppel and the Hornets, who just beat the Kings for the Summer League crown yesterday, but …

Jokic’s sprint drew wildly different reactions from fans around the world. One X commenter said, “He runs like the Flash.” A Reddit poster countered by saying, “He runs like Mr. Bean.”

Perhaps Jokic was inspired by the box office success of the new Superman movie when he decided to challenge a bullet train to a race. The red-and-blue-clad Kryptonian was always known for being faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive. Jokic just lost out on the MVP award to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He isn’t about to get punked by David Corenswet, too.

Despite having several on-court superpowers, nobody has ever mistaken Jokic and his everyman BMI for the Man of Steel. Nobody is clamoring for him to don a pair of spandex. Still, he had to do nearly everything for an undermanned Nuggets team last year.

Just as Superman had some help from Mr. Terrific, Hawk Girl and Green Lantern in the new movie, Jokic will benefit from some reinforcements next year. The Nuggets removed the interim head coach tag from David Adelman shortly after being eliminated by the Thunder, giving him the permanent job to replace Michael Malone.

They also swapped Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Johnson and Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas, while also signing Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.

No longer forced to live in the Fortress of Solitude with only Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray to help him, Jokic is going to be back with a vengeance next year.