Denver loves Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, a goofball who wants us to believe his new $147 million contract must have been some kind of clerical error from the NBA office. But for all that money, couldn’t Jokic have gone out and bought a little swagger?

“What’s swagger?” Jokic said Monday. “I don’t know what it means, to be honest. But it sounds like something creepy.”

After averaging 18.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists at age 23, Jokic wants us to believe he’s just a unicorn who lives down the street from LeBron James in the Western Conference.

“Sometimes, I don’t think he realizes how good he is and how great of a player he is,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “There were times last year, when we would talk about other big men in the NBA, and he’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t think I’m as good as this guy or that guy.’ I look him (and say): ‘Are you crazy?’ ”

This is the season Denver finally returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Or else.

“If we don’t make the playoffs, it won’t be a good season,” Jokic said.

And this is the year Jokic, the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA draft, shows everyone he’s among the best dozen players in the entire league. Better than Karl-Anthony Towns or Draymond Green, right up there alongside Paul George and Jimmy Butler.

“That’s nice,” Jokic said.

Then, after a moment of reflection, Jokic revealed there just might be some ego beneath his sweet, cuddly exterior.

“Maybe,” Jokic said, “all-star needs to be my goal.”

After signing Jokic in July, the Nuggets did have enough cash left over to buy a little swag. Isaiah Thomas, the feisty 5-foot-9 guard who finished fifth in the 2017 MVP voting, joined the team on a one-year, $2 million deal. Although his ego is ready to demand a shot at the buzzer, his surgically repaired hip is definitely not.

How long until we can expect to see Thomas in a Nuggets uniform? I asked Malone if it might be as late as Jan. 1.

“My first reaction is: ‘Wow, I don’t think it’s going to be that long.’ But I really don’t know,” Malone replied. “I don’t want to push him out there until he’s ready, whether it’s Halloween or Thanksgiving.”

The bottom line: After opening the season on the road Oct. 17 against the Clippers, Denver plays 10 of its next 14 games at home. Malone insists it’s imperative the Nuggets get off to a fast start. It probably would be foolhardy, however, to count on Thomas being a major factor early. Guess that means more responsibility for Jokic.

Last season, when Paul Millsap returned from injury in March, Jokic deferred to his veteran teammate. Malone called the young center in his office and told Jokic to stop being so nice, with this stern order: “We need you to be our best player. You are our best player. Embrace it. Own it. Go out there and do it.”

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“His embracing the role of not just being our best player, but embracing the role of being the face of the franchise, is so impressive,” said Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.

But ask Jokic if he would be comfortable getting in the face of teammates to play tougher defense or demand accountability for a poor performance, and he says guard Gary Harris would see right through his faux tough-guy act.

He’s a Joker, not a fighter.

And who needs swag? A star need not be loud to shine.