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Serbia Basketball Star Speaks on Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant During Paris Olympics

Serbia has been dominant at the 2024 Paris Olympics since their loss to Team USA
Joey Linn|
Jul 28, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Serbia power forward Nikola Jokic (15) dribbles against United States guard Lebron James (6) and guard Jrue Holiday (12) in the first quarter during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Jul 28, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Serbia power forward Nikola Jokic (15) dribbles against United States guard Lebron James (6) and guard Jrue Holiday (12) in the first quarter during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. | John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

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Serbia lost their opening game at the 2024 Paris Olympics to Team USA, but has responded with back-to-back wins over Puerto Rico and South Sudan. Advancing to the quarterfinals, Serbia has hopes if winning a gold medal behind Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

Through three games, Jokic is averaging 18.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists. These per game averages rank ninth, first, and sixth across the tournament. During a recent interview with Eurohoops, Jokic's teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic spoke on the three-time NBA MVP.

“We heard from some fan who was yelling ‘put Nikola back’ but I think he gets bored by hearing this from outside for stats,” Bogdanovic said after Jokic finished one assist shy of a triple double against Puerto Rico. “Because he is dominant and I can tell you he is not playing for stats."

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic talks to Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic
Dec 2, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) talks to Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) after a game at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Bogdanovic also spoke about Serbia's loss to Team USA, and how Kevin Durant's dominant return from injury compounded what was an overall subpar performance from the Jokic-led group.

“We were beat up," Bogdanovic told Eurohoops of Serbia's mentality after falling to Team USA. "We definitely played with our confidence a little bit after the game, but I think after we watched the tape you could see that we could play better, especially at some crucial moments at the end of the first quarter, the end of the second quarter, and the end of the quarter is at the beginning of third."

On Durant, Bogdanovic said, "We had a couple of letdowns against that team that you can’t have. And then KD coming up and shooting 100 percent. So I think we can do a better job on him."

Missing just one shot all game, Durant shot 100 percent in the first half to help put Serbia in a hole they were unable to dig out of. Led by Jokic and Bogdanovic, Serbia will look to stay hot as they enter their quarterfinals game against Australia on Tuesday.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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