PARIS — They are twin Jokers of different mothers.

But that is not what makes this tall sports tale so delightfully weird and almost impossibly wonderful.

No, if you want to know the miracle of these two Jokers, riddle me this:

How can Serbia, a tiny country of fewer than 7 million people, be home to the male tennis and basketball players that stand atop of the world?

The secret is love.

It’s more than a brotherhood between tennis star Novak Djokovic and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

It’s a bro-mance.

“Nikola! You mean the Joker? I love that guy,” Djokovic told me. “He is my brother from Serbia. And I am so proud of him.”

Until a hot summer afternoon at the Olympics in France, I had never met Djokovic, the proud owner of 24 Grand Slam titles.

But all I had to do was mention the NBA’s three-time MVP, and Djokovic grabbed my shoulder like a guy itching to brag about his baby brother.

An hour earlier, Djokovic had routed longtime rival Rafael Nadal in straight sets on center court at Roland Garros, and Olympic security guards were trying to usher him to a vehicle waiting just outside the stadium gates to whisk away the 37-year-old tennis superstar.

But the pride shared by Serbian athletes is so powerful that Djokovic wouldn’t budge until he told me why he so admired Jokic and what makes him so special to the people of their country.

“I love Nikola. He’s a special man. First, it’s special in the achievements of what he’s done the last three years in the NBA. It’s something special, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. But also, and more important to me, is the man Nikola is. He’s so humble,” Djokovic said.

“All he really loves in this life is his family, his horses and his little town of Sombor. People don’t believe it, they think that’s fake. But it’s really true. That’s the man Nikola Jokic is. It’s what makes him really different from anybody else that’s on this big stage. It makes Nikola special. And it touches my heart.”

Two months after undergoing knee surgery and 21 days after being pummeled by Carlos Alcarez in the Wimbledon final, Djokovic beat the rising Spanish superstar in the championship match on Sunday to win gold.

His heart touched as the Serbian national anthem saluted him atop the podium after being given his medal, Djokovic called this victory “the biggest sporting success I’ve ever had in my career.”

On Thursday, in the same city by the Seine, Jokic will attempt to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, when he leads Serbia into the semifinals of the basketball tournament against LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Team USA.

It’s a mouth-watering matchup that almost didn’t happen. Serbia survived a serious upset scare on Tuesday from Australia, rallying from 24 points down in the first half to win 95-90 in overtime.

Jokic, who’s averaging 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists over the course of the 40-minute games played at the Olympics, hit two crucial buckets late in the game that made all the difference.

As he trotted off the court and through the maze of fences in an arena corridor that is designated as the place for journalists to fire questions at players, Jokic never looked up until I called his name.

Joker looked up, smiled, veered off course and offered me a fist pump.

“Congratulations!” I told him.

“Thank you, brother,” Jokic replied.

And then he was gone, off to the locker room.

Those three words, I’m told, is the longest interview Jokic has given any reporter since the Olympics began.

“He’s doing great. But he doesn’t like to talk to the media. You know that,” Serbian teammate, friend and NBA veteran Bogdan Bogdonovic said. “In NBA, if he doesn’t talk to media, he’ll get fined. Here? No fines. So at the Olympics? He says, ‘I don’t need to talk.'”

Jokic looks unshaven and unkempt, as if he’s being held hostage by the Summer Games until he can return home to his beloved wife, daughter and horses in Sombor.

But in years past, I have heard Jokic talk in reverence that borders on awe when saluting Djokovic, calling one of the most dominant tennis players to ever live a “bright star” that puts Serbia “on top of the world.”

How is it possible that a small country with fewer people than can be found in Tennessee be such a ferocious power in the international courts of tennis and basketball?

“I’m still looking for the answer,” Bogdanovic said. “I don’t know why, but it starts with love. Love for the game.”

The original Joker is the Darth Vader of tennis.

His clone is Gru know who.

“Two Jokers,” Bogdanovic said. “In the same era. Playing different sports. For the same country. It’s amazing.”

These two Serbian men, born a little more than eight years apart, could not be more different in physical size or personality type.

When Jokic wrapped his famous countryman in a hug after a Nuggets’ victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in March, Djokovic disappeared from view.

While the man who led Denver to its first NBA championship tends to be as reclusive as a hermit, the personality of Djokovic makes a happy, YOLO racket.

But they are twin Jokers of different mothers.

On courts as different as the clay of Roland Garros and the hardwood of Bercy Arena in Paris, a tennis icon and basketball magician make the whole world take notice of a tiny, landlocked country in Europe that many people couldn’t find on a map.

Doesn’t matter which Joker you’re talking about.

As Jokic has said: “It’s a really good moment to be a Serbian.”