Serbian Player Reacts to Nikola Jokic Missing FIBA World Cup
It was recently announced that Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic will not be playing for Serbia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. In an interview with Mozzart Sport, Serbia's head coach Svetislav Pesic said he spoke with Jokic, and the reigning Finals MVP does not feel physically or mentally prepared to compete at the level Serbia would need him to be at.
Speaking with Meridian Sport, Marko Simonovic, a Silver medalist with the Serbian National Team in the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, shared a level of understanding for Jokic's decision.
"I have to take the players' side a bit," Simonovic said. "Especially when talking about Nikola Jokic. We've all seen how he acts and plays the game, how much he wanted to win a medal last year [at the Eurobasket], and how he lead our team. Do you know how hard the failure hit him? I was a witness to that, and can say the same about the WC in 2019."
Simonovic added, "When you're the best player of a team, you're always double-teamed, when you're the best in the world, you're guarded by three players every game. You play 100 games in a season, you get beaten up for a 100 games. The man is not a machine."
It was great perspective from Simonovic, who understands why Jokic isn't playing in the World Cup.
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