Nikola Jokic to play in the World Cup
Michael Spencer: Tim Connelly just said on ESPN that Nikola Jokic will play for Serbia this summer. #Nuggets @CBSDenver
Nikola Jokic Rumors
All NBA Players
Position: C
Born: 02/19/95
Height: 6-11 / 2.11
Weight:253 lbs. / 114.8 kg.
Salary: $27,504,630
Born: 02/19/95
Height: 6-11 / 2.11
Weight:253 lbs. / 114.8 kg.
Salary: $27,504,630
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Alex Kennedy: Bol Bol said he studies Nikola Jokic’s game and he’s excited to join Nuggets: “I think it’s good for me because I’ll be around very great players and a good staff. I think that will help develop me. That will better me… I think they’re a very great team, and I’m very excited.”
14 Jun
Serbia will play the first game of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, against Angola, on August 31, at 9:30 CET (15:30 local). Full list of preparation games: Borac Cacak v Serbia (Cacak, August 4). Serbia v Finland (Zrenjanin, August 7). Serbia v Lithuania (Belgrade, August 10). Lithuania v Serbia (Kaunas, August 12). Acropolis Cup with Greece, Italy, Turkey (Athens, August 16-18). Serbia v Italy (Shenyang, August 23). Serbia v New Zealand (Shenyang, August 25) . Serbia v France (Shenyang, August 27)
It’s against that passionate backdrop that Jokic has wrestled with his role within the national team, a program he has already lifted to unprecedented heights. Jokic announced two weeks ago that he will play for Serbia during the World Cup this fall in China, his first major role with the team since he helped lead the country to a memorable silver medal run in Brazil in 2016. He was the MVP of the qualifying tournament in Belgrade earlier that summer, helping the country earn one of the final spots in the Olympic field. He scored 25 points in a pool play game against the United States, nearly leading Serbia to a memorable upset of the star-studded Americans. “Jokic was the decisive player who allow Serbia to go at the Olympics, but people here forgot about that I believe,” said Djordjevic, who is of no relation to Serbian national team coach Aleksandar Djordjevic.
But Jokic’s presence closes the gap considerably as he joins a roster that could include other NBA talents such as Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bjelica and Milos Teodosic. He understands what this tournament, and the chance it provides to make another splash on the world stage, means to his nation of seven million. So he’s sacrificing time with his horses in Sombor, Serbia, in an attempt to add another chapter to his unforgettable season. “In our history we had really great players, but we never had a franchise player in the NBA,” Djordjevic said. “Fans are thirsty for medals. The whole nation will wake up in the middle of the night if games are at that time. The best thing is that Nuggets fans are going to root for Serbia because of Nikola. I’m sure of it.”
