The Nuggets should smartly select The Vooker.

Maybe ESPN won’t break for a State Farm commercial when he is picked.

Tristan Vukcevic is a 20-year-old, 7-foot, 223-pound Serbian-Italian-Swedish-Greek forward who shoots lights out from 25 feet and likes to retweet Nikola Jokic press conference quotes. And his jersey number is 1.

The Vooker could be mentored by The Joker his own self.

And none of national TV Jabberwocky should accuse Vukcevic (pronounced Vook-sa-vick) of being a tub of Crisco who cannot play NBA basketball.

The World Champion Nuggets now possess Nos. 37 and 40 in the NBA draft. They also acquired the Thunder’s 2024 first-round choice. They can trade the future No. 1 and the current 37th to get the Pacers’ pick at 26th. Vukcevic will be right there for the taking.

Then the Nuggets, as The Gazette’s beat writer Vinny Benedetto recommends, use No. 40 to draft Nigerian center James Nnaji, who could play with the young, emerging Zeke Nnaji. Cousin Vinny also likes Vukcevic.

Lest all forget, Jokic, the greatest player on the planet, was chosen at 41st in 2015 when he was sleeping soundly in Sombor, Serbia.

Will the Nuggets risk again? They should.

Just over a week after the Nuggets finished flummoxing the Heat in five games of the NBA Finals and flabbergasted everyone in b-ball, and particularly in the Western Conference, teams already are setting sights on the Colorado cowtown’s champions.

The Suns, and their ball-grabbing new owner Mat Ishbia (denied in his effort to buy the Broncos and to beat Jokic) have pulled off a trade for Bradley Beal from the Wizards and made Chris Paul disappear. The Suns of the Desert are attempting a novel Big Three in Kevin Durant, Kevin Booker and Beal to have another chance at the Nuggets in ’23-’24.

The Suns fired coach Monty Williams (who has moved to Detroit) because he couldn’t defeat Denver. The Rockets fired coach Stephen Silas, who couldn’t defeat anybody, and replaced him with Ime Udoka. The NBA plays musical coaches again.

If you can’t beat the Nuggets, emulate them, as teams have discovered. Mike Dunleavy Jr., who has been promoted to Warriors GM, says: “You look at the championship team with the Nuggets. Those guys were dialed in together. [In] 2022, that’s how we were. We can get back to that feel, that standpoint, I think, given our talent. That’s going to give us a chance to compete for a title.” Yet, Draymond Green has rejected his option, and he may wind up with the Lakers chasing the Nuggets.

Naturally, the Nuggets are the betting favorites to reduplicate — ahead of the Celtics, the Bucks, the Suns, the Lakers and those Warriors.

The major reason for Nuggets Love is that The Fabulous Five — Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — are under contract and will cost Stan Kroenke (who has won titles with the Rams, the Avalanche and the Nuggets in consecutive seasons) $150.5 million next season.

Christian Braun, drafted in the first round last year, definitely is returning, and Jeff Green declares he wants to be back. Bruce Brown hinted at the Parade of Champions that he would pick up his player’s option for a second season. Peyton Watson, also a first-round choice in ’22, and Jack White will compete for roster spots, as could Vlatko Cancar and Collin Gillespie.

Thomas Bryant, Ish Smith, Reggie Jackson and DeAndre Jordan are most likely gone as unrestricted free agents.

So the Nuggets need another point guard, a veteran reserve center, one more deft three-point shooter and. a rugged rebounder.

Also, a rookie draft pick who can develop eventually into a VIP if not an MVP.

Vukcevic is raw as a Blue Point oyster. So was Jokic.

The son of a longtime Serbian pro basketball player and a Swedish businesswoman/model, Vukcevic was born in Italy when his dad played there, and he turned professional as a teenager for Real Madrid and, last season, Partizan Belgrade. He’s a catch-and-shoot forward who hits 55%. Tristan came to the U.S. for the most recent NBA combine and left as one of the eight who most improved their draft value. He is ranked 35th overall.

How about The Joker and The Vooker?