For almost a decade, the Serbs have traveled to every major tournament as one of the top favorites, their best performances reaching heights that would be dangerous even for a “Dream Team” – but the generation around Nikola Jokic has yet to achieve glory. This summer, that is set to change once and for all.
Sometimes something trivial like ten minutes can make a huge difference. Take, for example, about a year ago at the Bercy Arena in Paris: Three quarters had been played in the semi-finals, Serbia was leading by 13 points against a US team that had been compared to the original “Dream Team” in the run-up to the tournament. This was no B team, but a team featuring all the superstars.
Only once before had such a team, made up of professionals rather than amateurs, lost a knockout game at the Olympics – although it should be noted that back in 2004, not all of the superstars were there. Nevertheless, it was a sensation when Argentina managed to eliminate the Americans in Greece in 2004.
Now it was Serbia’s turn to make history. With three quarters of near-perfect team basketball, Svetislav Pesic’s team had put itself in position to finally realize all the potential that had been talked about for years. It was one of the best performances ever conjured up by a national basketball team on any court. Then came bitter fouls, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, a collapse – and the dream was over.
Nikola Jokic and Co. did not leave France without a medal. They won bronze in the match for third place, which is still something to celebrate, and the celebrations were exuberant. Nikola Jokic & Co. left the Grande Nation with one certainty: they could have achieved even more. And that was not a new feeling for this generation, which has not yet won gold.
Almost always the favorite
At the tender age of 21, Jokic was part of the Serbian national team for the first time in 2016. As MVP, the center led his team through the qualifying tournament and, coming off the bench, straight to the final of the Olympic main round. Although they lost 30-0 to the USA, the tournament gave a taste of things to come.
Jokic had just finished his rookie year in the NBA, Bogdan Bogdanovic was still playing in Europe. The Serbs were young, talented, dangerous. Even before anyone could guess what would happen to Jokic in the NBA, it was already clear that this team would become a force to be reckoned with in Europe, perhaps even replacing the generation that had won five gold medals at European Championships and World Championships between 1995 and 2002 (as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia).
Serbia has indeed been the gold medal favorite several times since then. However, the results are sobering: one European Championship silver (2017) and one World Championship silver (2023), and Olympic bronze in 2024. The latter was by far the best tournament result with Jokic participating: Serbia failed in the quarterfinals at the 2019 World Championships and even one round earlier at the 2022 European Championships.
The silver medals were won without the best player. This leads to the somewhat strange situation that the now 30-year-old, who is undisputed in the NBA and has absolutely nothing left to prove since winning the title in 2023, is, in the opinion of some, still indebted to his home country.
National team beats NBA
Serbian journalist Dusica Tasic explained to the Denver Post last year: “Regardless of how proud people are of everything Jokic has achieved in the NBA, the national team comes before everything else here.” And Jokic still has something missing – moreover, it is not always viewed with understanding when he misses a tournament due to overexertion.
“Every year there is a big tournament. And it’s always the question: ‘Will Nikola play?’ There is always a debate. People here are very passionate about whether the best players play for our national team. That’s a huge responsibility for him,“ tennis legend Novak Djokovic recently told TNT, but he also emphasized the status the other ‘Joker’ has in his home country.
”He’s a hero to us,“ Djokovic said. ”Basketball is the biggest sport in our country. Jokic is phenomenal. He’s so talented and such a hard worker, and to see him dominate all the incredible athletes in the NBA with his mind, we’re all very proud of him. We all support him.”
The right sign
But preferably in the national team jersey. The lack of success there is the only reason why some people (such as Toni Kukoc) still refuse to elevate Jokic to the level of or even above players such as Drazen Petrovic, Vlade Divac or Dino Radja, whom he has actually surpassed (and in some cases outclassed) individually.
According to Ognjen Stojakovic, an assistant coach in both Denver and Serbia, the bronze medal in 2024 has already opened a few eyes. “Our people didn’t realize how good he is. If you don’t win anything with the national team, you’re not valued as much as others, no matter how successful you are elsewhere. In my opinion, people are only now slowly realizing what a great player he is.”
Accordingly, Jokic’s commitment in mid-July to the upcoming European Championship tournament immediately sparked a certain euphoria. It is the first time in his career that he will play for Serbia in consecutive summers, a sign that is exactly what was hoped for and expected in his home country.
Serbia now has the most NBA players participating in the tournament. Although Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, Nikola Topic and Tristan Vukcevic are not stars in the NBA, “Bogi” has been a dominant force in FIBA games for years (as has Vasilije Micic). The preliminary squad is generally packed with experienced top players on this stage, and then there’s Jokic.
The biggest favorite
The preparations so far give a glimpse of the quality the Serbs bring to the table and how hungry they are. They won their four preparatory games by 37 (against Bosnia-Herzegovina), by 12 (against Poland), by 10 (against Greece, albeit without Giannis) and by 67 (against Cyprus – without Jokic and Bogdanovic).
“I see Serbia as the biggest favorite because of their squad,” said new German coach Alex Mumbru to Eurohoops, who also described Jokic as “definitely the best player” in the tournament and in the world. In doing so, he certainly wanted to take some of the pressure off his own team – the reigning world champions, after all – but he was also merely voicing a fairly common opinion.
The Serbs know all about pressure anyway – from within. “People in Serbia don’t like sports. We don’t like basketball. We like to win,” Jokic himself once said. Nothing else is expected of them. Especially after last year’s demonstration: this generation definitely has what it takes to be a golden one. But it still has to become one.
