Nikola Jokic will participate in a star-studded hoops event this week

Nikola Jokic’s summer came sooner than expected when the Denver Nuggets were sent home by the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 7 of the second round but the three-time MVP’s offseason has been jam-packed full of events.

Jokic’s next basketball event will come later this week where he’s a named participant for Goran Dragic’s farewell game on Saturday in Ljubljana, Slovenia as the longtime NBA guard has called it a career. The former NBA All-Star, Dragic, will be joined on the court by Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic, Steve Nash, Luis Scola, Nikola Vucevic, Robin Lopez, Leandro Barbosa, Marko Guduric and Nuggets players Vlatko Cancar and Jokic, among others. Hall of Famer Chris Bosh will also attend.

The farewell event for Goran Dragic, called The Night of the Dragon, sold out in 20 minutes.

Dragic spent 15 years in the NBA, averaging 13.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. The former All-Star and NBA’s Most Improved Player retires at the top of many league ranks for his countrymen. Dragic played the most games, scored the most points and threw the most assists among players born in Slovenia. But those records will soon fall as Doncic will catch him in scoring this season already. Nonetheless, Dragic’s career which was spent with Miami, Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Toronto leaves a positive mark in hoops history. His top moment though may have come in 2017, when he led the Slovieans to a EuroBasket title, beating Serbia in the championship match.

From a Nuggets side, Cancar getting the invite probably means a lot to him in recognition of being one of the best Slovenian basketball players ever. And Jokic gets to join the cool kids as both a player from a similar part of the world and a legend who respects Dragic.

Jokic is coming off the Olympics, where he was named to the tournament’s first team in leading Serbia to a Bronze medal and a near upset of Team USA. The Nuggets are only about a month out from the start of training camp and games soon thereafter in the Middle East.

The exhibition is being played for The Goran Dragic Foundation, with the teams getting drafted the night before at a banquet dinner.