All of Serbia can now rejoice: Denver Nuggets star center and Serbian legend-in-progress Nikola Jokic will be leading Serbia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup being played in China this summer.
The link in FIBA’s tweet is incorrect, but the actual page they were referencing has the following quotes from Jokic referenced from the original Serbian news agency Tanjug piece:
The 24-year-old Jokic said: “I am very satisfied with everything I did this past season in NBA. I had a great year with my participation in the All Star game and election in 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 of that goal.”
Jokic skipped Eurobasket in 2017 to work on his body and get ready for increased duty as the focal point of the Denver Nuggets, which created some consternation among his Serbian fan base. This year he will do his best to help them win a title, much as Dirk Nowitzki spent his summers doing with the German national team for many years. If Jokic can be as healthy as Dirk over the span of his career then Denver fans will consider themselves quite lucky – because Jokic’s duty to his home country and his obligations to his NBA team will always have to be balanced, and for as long as he can do both I’m sure he will.
The Mavericks and the Spurs both went through that same balancing act with their superstars, and now Denver will happily balance away. The Mile High City wishes Serbia all the best in the FIBA World Cup and will be following your exploits as closely as you have followed ours with your native son in Denver.
Good luck!
