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Serbia national team forward Nikola Jovic admitted he wasn’t aware that his shot could have given Nikola Jokic the fourth triple-double in Olympic Games history. Spending more time with Jokic this summer, Jovic was astonished as Jokic once again broke stereotypes about him.
Nikola Jovic could have helped Nikola Jokic to become only the fourth player in Olympic Games history to record a triple-double. However, his fast-break miss turned out to be decisive, stopping the Serbia national team star from making history.
With 2:00 remaining in the third quarter, Serbia grabbed a defensive rebound, and Jokic delivered a full-court pass to Jovic. Just a couple of minutes earlier, Jovic had received a similar pass and hammered the rim.
This time, the Miami Heat forward faced a defender. He spun under the rim and attempted a layup, but the ball bounced on the rim several times and didn't go in.
A minute later, Jokic was subbed out with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Coach Svetislav Pesic didn't bring him back on the court, as Serbia held a 30+ point lead.
"No… Who passed it?!" Nikola Jovic responded to BasketNews with surprise when I recalled the sequence to him.
"Did he pass the ball?" he asked to confirm.
"Oh… But I made the dribble!" Jovic tried to discuss the situation.
In today's basketball, that still might have counted as Jokic's assist.
"I can't believe I didn't make it… I'm so sorry," he said, scratching his head and smiling. "It's sad."
"I didn't know at the time, but I just heard it. I knew he was probably somewhere close because that's what he does," Jovic admitted.
Who would have had the guts to suggest bringing Nikola back on the court in the fourth quarter with Serbia holding a 30+ point lead? Is that even possible in Svetislav Pesic's team?
"No, I don't think so," Jovic replied to BasketNews. "No one really looked at it that way. It would have been nice to see him get a triple-double. Maybe Bogi might have," he said, glancing at Bogdan Bogdanovic, who just passed by in the flash interview zone.
When informed that he was one assist shy of an Olympic triple-double, Jokic shrugged off the near miss, saying, "Oh, it is what it is," in a quick response to BasketNews at the flash interview zone.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does Nikola Jokic actually care about getting a triple-double? Minus five?
"I would say maybe one. I always feel he cares at least a little bit," Jovic smiled.
Jovic, 21, is spending his first summer with Nikola Jokic in a major FIBA competition.
"He's a competitor," Jovic responded when asked what he learned about Nikola after spending more time with him. "People joke about his shape, but he practices hard, takes care of his body, and thinks deeply about the game. It's unbelievable. And it's a pleasure to be around him and see how the best in the world thinks, trains, and does everything."
"It's impressive and unbelievable how smooth he makes it look. Getting all those numbers is just insane to me," he added, speaking with BasketNews.
Does the game become easier when you play with Nikola Jokic?
"Absolutely. He reads the game unbelievably. Even defensively, where people, I think, underestimate him. But you're talking about offense, and there he's just unbelievable. Whenever you're on the court, and even if he probably doesn't see you, even before the play happens, he will tell you where to be, and you will get the ball at the exact place where he told," Jovic illustrated Jokic's greatness.
Is it hard to play at such a high standard, given how clever Jokic is on the basketball floor?
"I wouldn't say it's difficult because we have many great players. But you need to spend time with him to understand his game. Our game is oriented around him because he's the best player in the world. You just have to understand how he plays, and everything will click," Jovic responded.
It's good to talk about all these stories, especially when Serbia bounced back after a tough loss to Team USA in the Olympic Games opener, 84-110.
Jovic said Serbia learned their lesson, showing it in their dominant 107-66 victory against Puerto Rico.
"We learned we need to be better at everything. Team USA is incredibly good, and you can't lose focus for even a second, or they'll take a 10-point lead. The way they shoot, their percentages are insane. We improved our rebounding, something what is really important for us. We couldn't allow any offensive rebounds. We focused on the small things, like rebounding and turnovers, those were the most important things for us, the easiest points they actually get."
"I feel we still had a chance [against the USA], and I hope we will see them again in the finals," Jovic concluded.
by gqpdream305
1 Comment
That last line
