Serbia Is Playing the Best Basketball in the World Right Now

[TomSea]

Serbia Is Playing the Best Basketball in the World Right Now
Jeremy Woo

Serbia Is Playing the Best Basketball in the World Right Now

I never know if it’s fair to really label anyone other than the United States as the team to beat in international competition, even if excitement over Team USA at this FIBA World Cup has been unusually and understandably tepid. Nobody wears a bigger target on their backs than the U.S., even watered-down iterations like this team, because prestige, how infrequently they lose, (and perhaps a sprinkle of good old American hubris) will always make beating them mean something. As far as tournament favorites go, I don’t know what the right answer is, nor have I been awake for 3 a.m. games on the East Coast, but at least I can reasonably tell you that Serbia is the team you really need to be watching.

It’s not news that Serbia is good, nor that it is the primary threat to American dominance. But even with the USA’s bounce-back win over Japan on Thursday—and the fact that the two teams can’t meet until late in the tournament—Serbia’s presence in the field looms. While it was far from a shock to watch them roll through pool play behind Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and a host of role players including Nemanja Bjelica and Boban Marjanovic. Earmarked by many as a real contender coming in, Serbia blew out Angola and the Phillippines, pulled away from Italy in a compelling matchup on Wednesday, and heads into the second round of group play undefeated, averaging a tournament-high 107.7 points per game, and shooting an absurd 53% from three-point range. You can see where this might be headed. Now sorted into a second group with Spain, Italy and Puerto Rico, it’ll be fascinating to see whether they can maintain.

Serbia fell handily to the U.S. in the gold medal game in 2014, but that team didn’t have Jokic as its focal point and was down a few key pieces due to injury (and the U.S. had basically everyone). Right now, it’s not so much what Serbia has done as it is the way they’re doing it, and how fun it’s been to watch. Although the competition will stiffen, they have been clinically efficient, and there is no such thing as overexposure to Nikola Jokic, who’s evolved into more than just a dark horse MVP candidate in Denver. He’s become a dominant NBA player in his own, very specific way, and is essentially an unstoppable force against most FIBA opponents. When other teams can’t effectively throw athletic bodies at him and make him work, Jokic is going to get what he wants most of the time, be it an easy post-up or a simple assist (or as he often does, a less-simple assist). He’s averaging 22.2 points, 10 rebounds and 9.4 assists per-36 minutes right now, which, of course, is totally farcical. But he’s such a singular force that his teams adapt to his style, and never vice versa.

More at: https://sports.yahoo.com/serbia-playing-best-basketball-world-132824977.html

Radio Free Europe had an article on their star player the other day, Jokic, but the main part of the article was a video that would not transfer over... so I did not post it. Here is that article though.

https://www.rferl.org/a/basketball-s-joker-serbia-s-big-man-from-a-small-town/30142802.html

So, good if they are doing welll.

Lithuania has also had outstanding teams and I mean, these countries often are not so heavily populated as we would be in comparison. Great to see.  Lithuania, Argentina, Italy, Greece, Spain, I'm sure I am missing some but it's good to see other teams play so well. Why? Didn't even Mexico nip a win from us not too long ago? Maybe the game wasn't that important, stars weren't there or something.

[dfwgator]

I hope they beat the US.


I don't want thugs representing me.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Jokic is fun to watch.  His teams necessarily play a different style of basketball than does everyone else, so games just seem more interesting.

[OfTheCross]

I hope they beat the US.


I don't want thugs representing me.

What do you mean? Do you think our roster is full of thugs?

[goatprairie]

 

Jokic is fun to watch.  His teams necessarily play a different style of basketball than does everyone else, so games just seem more interesting.

Jokic gives the lie to the belief that nba players today have to be super athletes. He's slower than a turtle and his vertical leap is about 12 inches. Yet, nobody can stop him.

[OfTheCross]

:2popcorn:Jokic gives the lie to the belief that nba players today have to be super athletes. He's slower than a turtle and his vertical leap is about 12 inches. Yet, nobody can stop him.

Jokic is a monster. Super skilled, super strong, great stamina, and is 7', 250lbs

The only thing he's missing is speed, which is good enough for his positon

[goatprairie]

Jokic is a monster. Super skilled, super strong, great stamina, and is 7', 250lbs

The only thing he's missing is speed, which is good enough for his positon

Well, he also can barely jump over a piece of paper, but you are correct....he's a great player.
But there have been numerous good/excellent NBA players in recent years who are not great athletics as usually defined as being extremely fast, quick, and great leapers.
Skills and bb I.Q. are still highly valued properties.
I get into arguments on bb forums with young fans who really believe great players from the past couldn't play today because they weren't athletic enough for today's game.
When I point out to them players like Jokic and many others who don't fit the stereotype of the super athlete, they fall silent and usually don't respond.