To say the Serbian national team is entering the 2019 FIBA World Cup on a hot streak is an understatement.
Serbia’s last loss came to Estonia on 21 Feb. during the European Qualifiers, a 71-70 setback that featured no Serbian NBA players. Since then, the Eagles have rattled off 11 consecutive victories, capped off with an 85-80 overtime win over Greece and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo to win the Acropolis Tournament in Greece.
Oh, and that win over Greece? The Serbians did it without Nikola Jokić. You know, the Denver Nuggets’ superstar center who finished fourth in NBA MVP voting this season? The one person who could challenge Antetokounmpo as the best overall player in China for this year’s World Cup?
Yeah. That guy.
Peaking at the right time, Serbia – currently ranked fourth in the world – is one of the favorites to leave China with a World Cup title. Led by point guard Miloš Teodosić, the Serbians came up just short of gold in the 2014 FIBA World Cup, falling to the United States in the Final and settling for silver. They did all of that without Jokić, and now add the 24-year-old All-NBA First Team big man to a roster loaded with talent.
The 7-footer broke out in his fourth NBA campaign, averaging 20.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists while establishing himself as an elite playmaker out of the post and earning his first All-Star appearance. The 2014 second-round draft pick hopes to bring that same level of play to his first World Cup appearance and continue the dominance he displayed at the international level during the 2016 Olympics.
“I am very satisfied with everything I did this past season in [the] NBA,” said Jokić in a May interview with FIBA.basketball. “I had a great year with my participation in the All-Star Game and election the the All-NBA First Team… A crown of this amazing season for me would be a World Cup medal for which I’m sure that Serbia can win and I am fully ready to contribute in achieving that goal.”
Jokić’s ascent to NBA superstardom has been astounding. The Nuggets selected him with the 41st overall pick in 2014 and he showed consistent improvement, upping his scoring, rebounding and assists totals in each of his first four seasons. This year, he is on pace to become the fastest center to reach 2,000 career assists in NBA history.
That uncanny ability to pass out of the post or find a leaking wing for a long pass on the fast break off a rebound will benefit Serbia immensely. A roster loaded with talent – including dynamic perimeter shooters like Bogdan Bogdanović (Sacramento Kings), Nemanja Bjelica (Sacramento Kings) and Marco Gudurić (Memphis Grizzlies) – will benefit from his uncanny court vision, while towering center Boban Marjanović (Dallas Mavericks) joins Jokić in the paint.
“I love the talent and chemistry in the national team,” said Serbian legend and former NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković in a FIBA.basketball interview in July. “There are so many guys, so much talent on this team. I’m looking forward to seeing them play in China and I think that they have every reason to be ambitious after what they’ve done the last couple of years.”
But for the Eagles, whether they can get back to the title game and win their first gold medal since 2002 – when they were still Yugoslavia – will largely hinge on Jokić’s play. His ability as a passer will help make up for Teodosić’s absence due to injury, while his scoring ability will draw opponents’ top defenders and open up space for his teammates to space the floor. Serbia opens up Group D play in Foshan against No. 39 Angola on Saturday before taking on No. 31 Philippines and No. 13 Italy in the opening round. Advancing would earn the Eagles games against the top two finishers of Group C and a likely matchup with world No. 2 Spain and Marc Gasol.
“I believe in what we are doing, in the quality our players have,” said Serbian head coach Sasha Djordjević to FIBA.basketball in June. “But we cannot make that mistake, approach this summer with the idea that we are the ones who will play [in] the Final and win it all – especially with eight tough games in 15 days.”
This Serbian team will certainly take it one game at a time, per the wishes of its head coach. But with a talent like Jokić on the floor every night, it’s hard to imagine the Eagles won’t be one of the last teams left vying for the ultimate prize in China.
