Inside The Nuggets

NBA Fans React to Stunning Nikola Jokic, Serbia Upset vs Finland

Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic suffered a crushing loss while representing Serbia at EuroBasket
Logan Struck|
May 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) watches Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoot free throws in the second half of game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
May 18, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) watches Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoot free throws in the second half of game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

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Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic has cemented himself as the best player in the world after winning three NBA MVP awards in the last five seasons. After an underwhelming second-round playoff loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and losing the MVP race to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic returned home to Serbia for the summer.

Now, over the past few weeks, Jokic has been representing Serbia at EuroBasket, where they entered the tournament as heavy favorites to win it all. Jokic and Serbia dominated their pre-tournament exhibition matches, going undefeated heading into the real thing. Then, Serbia showed out during group play, hoisting a 4-1 record heading into the elimination rounds.

Serbia power forward Nikola Jokic (15)
Jul 31, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Serbia power forward Nikola Jokic (15) reacts after a play in the second quarter against Puerto Rico during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Unfortunately for Serbia, star guard Bogdan Bogdanovic suffered an injury during the group phase, so the pressure fell all on Jokic's shoulders.

Jokic and co. fall short

Similar to how it goes in Denver, Jokic puts the entire team on his shoulders and still falls short sometimes. Well, despite heading into the elimination rounds as the heavy favorite, Jokic and Serbia could not get the job done.

Facing Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen and Finland, Serbia suffered one of the worst upsets in EuroBasket history. The Nuggets superstar managed to drop 33 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals on 9-13 shooting from the field, but it was in a losing effort. Markkanen led Finland with 29 points to pull off the huge upset over the tournament favorites.

Of course, many basketball fans have reacted to this wild upset on the international stage, as the best player in the world gets eliminated far sooner than anyone expected.

Via @petebo6: "The Joker did his job! Most of his teammates, however, didn't deliver and Serbia lost the game"

Jokic scored 33 of Serbia's 86 points, but Miami Heat guard Nikola Jovic chipped in 20 points to help him out. The rest of the team, however, did not step up as much as Jokic would have liked, but that is what happens when he is missing his co-star in Bogdanovic.

Via @KlausNBA: "European coaching does a much better job of targeting Jokic defensively. He also becomes much easier to expose if he isn’t surrounded by a strong defensive team."

Of course, Jokic is playing a very different game when he goes from Denver to representing Serbia, but he dominates no matter where he is playing. Sure, the defense against European teams is tougher for him, but he did all he could against Finland.

Via @mike__duty: "Losing Bog didn’t help, but the world has gotten *significantly* better at hoops. ‘28 will be fun."

The international basketball landscape continues to improve, and while it would be great for Jokic to show out on his Serbian squad, it is great for basketball that a team like Finland can pull off this upset.

Via @Quarter_Water: "If Nikola Jokic wins another NBA Championship this season blame Finland. 💯"

This loss to Finland could undoubtedly give Jokic some extra motivation heading into the 2025-26 season with the Nuggets, and could help the team get back to the NBA Finals if he stays hungry for more.

Via @SloHoopsFan: "Nikola Jokić shattered after the historic elimination by the underdog Finland"

This post shows that Jokic was visibly upset after the crushing loss to Finland, but with such high expectations heading into the tournament, it is expected that he would be hurt after such an upset.

Via @zachary_mj: "Now Joker can rest up for the NBA season 💪"

The good news for Nuggets fans after the loss is that Jokic will not be risking injury any further in EuroBasket play, and he can spend the last couple of weeks leading up to training camp resting his body.

Via @thirtyy33: "If they had bogi they win by 30 and whole tourney... Crazy it was only jokic"

Serbia immediately took a huge hit when Bogdanovic was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament, and it obviously cost them early as they failed to make it past the first round without him.

Via @BensHoops: "Lauri Markkanen with what is unquestionably the best moment of his career so far.

He led Finland with 29 points in a shocking upset over Nikola Jokic and Serbia in elimination play at EuroBasket.

Biggest win of his career by far."

Of course, all eyes are on Jokic after the loss, but Markkanen should certainly be getting some attention. The star forward has been incredible throughout EuroBasket play, and his performance against Serbia was no different.

Via @AnthonyIrwinLA: "Finland knocking off Serbia is pretty incredible. Luka’s path to a Eurobasket title is a lot more open now."

With Jokic knocked out of EuroBasket play, the best players remaining are Slovenia's Luka Doncic and Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who are both looking to take advantage of Serbia's loss.

Via @steven42179352 : "I’m honestly just happy there wasn’t any injuries and now he can rest up before the season starts. This is a W"

Jokic had an eventful 2025 offseason, but now that he is done with EuroBasket, the Nuggets' superstar can shift his attention toward the upcoming NBA season, especially with the promising offseason changes that the franchise made.

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Logan Struck
LOGAN STRUCK

Logan Struck is a writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's On SI since 2023

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