By the Eurohoops team / [email protected]
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic won a bronze medal with Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Denver NuggetsAssistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic, who was also part of the Serbian squad in France this summer, explained how people in his home country view Jokic after his instrumental role in the victory over Germany in the third-place play-off in Paris.
“In general, the first thing I notice is that our people were not aware of the excellence of the basketball player Nikola, of his quality. In fact, if you do not win anything with the national team, you are not as valued as those who did, no matter how successful you are elsewhere. Nikola won silver with Serbia in Rio, but he did not have as important a role as he does today at the Olympics. In my opinion, people are only beginning to realize the excellence of this player.”, said Stojakovic, who joined Svetislav Pesic’s team in 2023, during an interview with Meridian Sport.
Serbia played a memorable match against Team USA in the Olympic semi-finals, but lost to this star-studded team in the final minutes.
“We played an almost perfect game. It’s impossible to play a perfect game, and we were so close to it. We did something that no one had ever done given the strength of the opponent. One of the main things was not to let them run away. Unfortunately, it happened at the end, but one of the best players in the history of basketball had to find the rhythm. There’s no point crying.“
Addressing his role within the Serbian national team, Stojakovic commented on the idea that he was brought in to help the team adapt to Nikola and vice versa.
“It is both true and false. People from the outside say that it is easy to play with Jokić, but they do not know how difficult it is to play with him. He is atypical, which is difficult for some players to accept. Everyone has to adapt to him, change, but at the same time remain themselves. We have done a good job, as the results show. But is it easy? Not really. Only after adaptation. Habits have to change. After all, you are playing with perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time in a completely atypical team..”
He undoubtedly considers Jokic to be one of the best players to ever play the game.
“I don’t want to rank him. In team sports, that doesn’t make sense. Is he really one of the best basketball players? Absolutely! The main reason I say that, besides everything he’s won, done, and his stats, is because he changed the game of basketball. All those revolutionary players are special. He belongs in that category.“
Nuggets Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric were added during the offseason.
“The NBA show must go on. We all have to adapt now. We have quality players, we just have to fill the gaps, which the young players should do. The core of the team is there. We are moving forward,” concluded Stojakovic.
