Serbia: Jokic Matchups
(Press Release)
Should he decide to play for Serbia, Nikola Jokic will be in a unique position heading into the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, as he could emulate the achievement of Marc Gasol, who won the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Toronto Raptors and the Naismith Trophy with Spain in the same year.
Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a 4-1 series win against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals where he was also named the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. With averages of 30.2 points, 14 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, the Serbian big man was undeniable as the Heat could not find a way to stop him.
Four-time All-Defensive Second Team member Bam Adebayo was the only effective defender against Jokic as he dominated when substitute big man Cody Zeller was on the floor. The question now is, “Who can step up to face the two-time NBA MVP in the FIBA World Cup?”
Grouped with South Sudan, China, and Puerto Rico, there are not a lot of big-name bigs who can make things difficult for Jokic in Group B.
South Sudan has a handful of players over 6-foot-8 playing in the NBA G-League, Australia, and New Zealand so they will have to defend Jokic by committee. Nuni Omot, the squad’s leading scorer in the African Qualifiers, will have to make him work on defense as well to expend some of his stamina.
China also has a lot of bigs but it might be up to 2016 NBA Draftees Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin to face Jokic.
Puerto Rico might pose the biggest challenge for Serbia in the initial group stage as the squad can put 6-foot-10 youngster George Conditt or the veteran Ismael Romero on The Joker.
With Italy poised to top Group A, which also has the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Angola, an early matchup between two powerhouse teams will be a hot ticket in Group I action.
The last time these two teams matched up was in the 2022 Eurobasket Round of 16, and it was the tenth-ranked Italy scoring a minor upset against the sixth-ranked Serbia. In that game, Jokic dropped 32 points and 14 rebounds but his team lost, 94-86. It could be up to the likes of veterans Nicolo Melli, Achille Polonara, and Luigi Datome to battle Jokic, but the Azzurri may get help from 2022 NBA Draft top pick Paolo Banchero.
Jokic could also be matched up against fellow NBA players Karl Anthony-Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves, Dominican Republic) or Bruno Fernandez (Houston Rockets, Angola) in the second phase or face off against Japeth Aguilar and June Mar Fajardo as he did in 2019.
There will be no shortage of tremendous opposition for The Joker and he might be matched up against the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Domantas Sabonis, Jusuf Nurkic, Ivica Zubac, Rudy Gobert, and Nikola Vucevic. He might even get the chance to face off against incoming top pick Victor Webanyama of France or his Denver tag-team partner Jamal Murray who could suit up for Canada.
Serbia’s main man will take on all comers as he will be eager to claim 2023 as the year of The Joker.
Group Phase games of Serbia will be held at the Araneta Coliseum. Tickets are already on sale at https://philippines-ticketing.worldcup.basketball/, with several packages and day passes from which to choose.