In Serbian mythology long ago Svarog was the god of fire, sun and blacksmithing. In Colorado reality forever Nikola Jokic is the celestial god of fire, brimstone and basketball.

Jokic is a living, breathing legend who never will be equaled in the NBA. Nobody else ever will pass this way (sight unseen nightly), shoot this way (from 2 feet to 25 feet to 68-foot heaves), rebound this way (27 in one game), steal the ball this way (seven thefts once), out-think foes this way and provide leadership and coaching this way (in every game he plays) and be such a humble guy (who doesn’t care about statistics, puts his wedding ring in his shoelaces for every game and waves to his young daughter during every game).

Jokic is a modern-day Renaissance Man. The Joker with a basketball on the court is Michelangelo with a paintbrush on the Sistine Chapel ceiling; Donatello with a sculptor’s chisel and a block of marble in Florence; Mozart with a piano in a Vienna concert hall; Pavarotti with a voice in the Royal Opera House; Messi with a soccer ball in the World Cup; Richard Petty with a race car at Daytona; Wayne Gretzky with a puck in the Stanley Cup finals; Humphrey Bogart with a glass of whiskey in “Casablanca”; Miyamoto Musashi with a sword in any duel; Anna Pavlova with ballerina shoes in “The Dying Swan.”

Nikola is a Paladin.

The Serbian Stellar Star must summon all his sensational skills Sunday in the seventh game to defeat the Thunder bolts in Oklahoma City.

It’s hardly easy.

The Thundering throng will be clapping a team that has won 75 games overall and is favored by 7.5 points to oust the Nuggets in the Western Conference second-round joust. The teams are tied 5-5 this season.

But, then, the Joker-Ace-King of Hearts-Jack of Diamonds is the greatest 1-on-5 player in the world. Aaron Gordon may not play because of a hamstring injury; Michael Porter Jr. may not play to strength because of a shoulder injury; Jamal Murray may not play his best because of a lingering illness; Russell Westbrook may not play well because of his turnovers and missed layups; Christian Braun may not play up to his accomplishments in Game 6; and Julian Strawther may not play as outstanding as he did Thursday.

Five bench players will not play.

However, the player who wore the Jack Nicholson “Joker’’ outfit to a game in the series will be able to play through his elbow injury, the scars and scratches on his bloodied body, the officials who don’t give him respect and foul shots he’s due and deserves when pounded and pummeled by the illegal Thunder tactics.

The Game 6 victory by the Nuggets was one of the most prideful moments in Denver’s professional sports history. Sure, the Broncos have won three Super Bowls and produced two dozen tremendous triumphs; the Avalanche have won three championships with incredible runs in the playoffs; the Rockies even had a miraculous finish in the regular season of 2007, won a wild card tie-breaker and two playoff series before losing the World Series; and the Nuggets won their first NBA title two seasons ago with an amazing postseason stretch.

But these Nuggets played sick, hurt, tired, beaten down by a game every other day for two weeks, including a series against a team with a week of rest, and still managed to reach Game 7 stayin’ alive.

Maybe they lose Sunday afternoon and are done. But they’ll never lose heart, soul or the memories of a season when the coach and the general manager were fired after a four-game losing streak and with only three games remaining. Kroenke & Son had enough of the bickering Nuggets and surrendered suddenly. The temporary replacement last was a head coach at a high school 14 years ago. One Nuggets starter had an injury that could keep him sidelined entirely. Unlike other teams at the trade deadline, the Nuggets did not get snot. And the Nuggets were among the worst defensive teams in the league.

The Nuggets were not in the happy kingdom at Orlando.

But they had a center of attention who has led the Nuggets to 10 victories since the chaotic upheaval.

Nikola Jokic is one like no other.