For International players, playing for their home country means everything. It is rare to see top American players play in tournaments other than the Olympics in basketball, but for most international players, it is a chance for them to play in front of their home country for pride.
Nikola Jokic‘s Serbian national team had a remarkable run in the 2024 Olympics, reaching the semifinals against Team USA. After building a significant, double-digit lead, Team USA mounted one of the largest comebacks in Olympic history to defeat Serbia and move on to face France in the Gold Medal game.
Nikola Jokic believes the Olympics made him better and he may play for Serbia this summer in the European championships pic.twitter.com/Xp2yuFOtXG
— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) May 18, 2025
Jokic led the entire tournament in total points, rebounds, and assists, which is something that no other player in Olympic history had ever accomplished.
The Serbian national team is returning a good portion of the team that went to the semifinals in the Olympics. Headlined by Nikola Jokic, Serbia has Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Los Angeles Clippers, Nikola Jovic from the Miami Heat, Nikola Topic from the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Tristan Vukcevic from the Washington Wizards.
FUN FACT: There are five players from Serbia currently in the NBA.
An even more FUN FACT: 3 of them share the same first name:
🇷🇸 Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets
🇷🇸 Nikola Jovic of the Heat
🇷🇸 Nikola Topic of the Thunder
What are the chances 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/IlBCmcHvlt
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 1, 2025
Bogdanovic is also one of the most popular players in FIBA basketball history. Alongside Jokic, the Serbian team has the potential to win EuroBasket, with one of the most stacked rosters in the tournament.
In only 27 minutes against Greece, Jokic dominated. He scored 23 points and 19 rebounds to go along with four assists, and had control of the entire floor and especially on the boards.
🚨NIKOLA JOKIC IS BACK
23 points
19 rebounds
4 assists
In 27 minutes vs. Greece 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/aTg0pCq492
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) August 9, 2025
Fans erupted in the comments, praising Jokic and excited about the Denver Nuggets’ upcoming year.
One fan replied: “Dudes gonna average another triple double this season lol which needs to hurry tf up and start”
Another commented: “You know all of Greece hates to see a Denver Nugget coming”
Jokic is looking to have yet another MVP-caliber season for the Nuggets. In the 2024-2025 season, he was the MVP runner-up and averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game on 41.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
In the playoffs, the Nuggets’ superstar was just as good, averaging 26.2 points,12.7 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game on 38 percent from three-point range.
Jokic WENT OFF tonight:
🃏 42 PTS
🃏 22 REB
🃏 6 AST
Statement game in OKC 👊 pic.twitter.com/GH2x4DaXXQ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 6, 2025
With the Nuggets reloading in the offseason with additions like Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas, Jokic is sure to have another monster season if healthy.
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