Following a championship run with the Nuggets this spring, star middle Nikola Jokic received’t go well with up for Serbia on this summer time’s World Cup, in keeping with a report from Dejan Stankovic of Mozzart Sport.
There had been skepticism that Jokic can be accessible for Serbia on the World Cup after he performed into mid-June with Denver. Mozzart Sport’s reporting signifies that the two-time NBA MVP has knowledgeable the Serbian nationwide workforce of his resolution and can get some further relaxation prematurely of coaching camp.
New Thunder guard Vasilije Micic – who signed a three-year contract with Oklahoma Metropolis earlier this month – can also skip the World Cup as he prepares for his first season within the NBA. There’s much less certainty about Micic’s standing at this level, however Stankovic suggests the longtime EuroLeague star will possible observe Jokic’s lead and decline to take part, leaving Serbia with out one other key piece of its projected rotation.
The FIBA World Cup is mostly seen as a much less prestigious worldwide occasion than the Olympics, so stars who miss this summer time’s occasion in Asia should still find yourself enjoying for his or her nationwide groups in 2024 in Paris. The U.S. World Cup workforce, for example, is headlined by a youthful group of stars comparable to Brandon Ingram, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, however Workforce USA will possible have extra big-name gamers accessible in France subsequent yr.
Nonetheless, non-U.S. stars are sometimes extra inclined to compete in non-Olympic worldwide occasions than prime American gamers are, so the truth that Serbia will possible be lacking two of its greatest gamers is a tricky blow for the workforce.
Serbia didn’t qualify for the earlier Olympics in Tokyo and isn’t a shoo-in for Paris both. It is going to be trying to enhance upon its fifth-place end within the 2019 World Cup. Serbia must end as one of many prime two European groups at this yr’s World Cup as a way to mechanically qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
