Following a championship run with the Nuggets this spring, star heart Nikola Jokic received’t go well with up for Serbia on this summer season’s World Cup, in accordance to a report from Dejan Stankovic of Mozzart Sport.
There had been skepticism that Jokic could be out there 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 staff of his choice and can get some additional relaxation upfront of coaching camp.
New Thunder guard Vasilije Micic – who signed a three-year contract with Oklahoma City earlier this month – may additionally 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 comply with 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 considered as a much less prestigious worldwide occasion than the Olympics, so stars who miss this summer season’s occasion in Asia should still find yourself taking part in for his or her nationwide groups in 2024 in Paris. The U.S. World Cup staff, as an illustration, is headlined by a youthful group of stars comparable to Brandon Ingram, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton, however Team USA will possible have extra big-name gamers out there in France subsequent yr.
Still, non-U.S. stars are sometimes extra inclined to compete in non-Olympic worldwide occasions than high American gamers are, so the truth that Serbia will possible be lacking two of its greatest gamers is a tricky blow for the staff.
Serbia didn’t qualify for the earlier Olympics in Tokyo and isn’t a shoo-in for Paris both. It shall be trying to enhance upon its fifth-place end within the 2019 World Cup. Serbia would have to end as one of many high two European groups at this yr’s World Cup so as to routinely qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
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