Nikola Jokic could only hang his head in distress.
This is feeling the three-time NBA MVP is accustomed to imposing on his opponents, but for the second time in a row against a loaded Team USA roster in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Jokic, in atypical fashion, had no answer to this basketball equation.
Jokic’s new teammates are a step slower and less skilled than the teammates he won an NBA title with in 2023.
Only three of them — Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks), Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat) and Vasilije Micic (Charlotte Hornets) — are active NBA players. And while Jokic may be a three-time league MVP, he is both the only player on the Serbian national basketball team with an All-Star appearance and the only full-time NBA starter (though Bogdanovic is perennially among Sixth Man of the Year candidates) on the roster.
Which is why Serbia’s defensive rotations far slower than Jokic had become accustomed playing alongside Jamal Murray (Canada), Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Denver. And even with Bogdanovic back in the rotation.
It’s also why Team Jokic lacked offensive firepower, and ultimately, it’s why Team USA, for the second time in these international games, has defeated Serbia by 26, this time in a 110-86 victory to take a 1-0 record after the Olympic group play opener.
NBA talent.
More of it gives a country the tools to compete with Team USA for Olympic gold.
Less of it, and you get lopsided whuppings the likes of which the Americans can use to widen the margin in the group and advance to the knockout rounds.
South Sudan is the wild card and next up for Team USA, and after nearly defeating the Americans in a one-point loss in the USA Basketball Showcase games, the Sudanese team claimed its first-ever Olympic victory with a 90-79 victory over Puerto Rico on Sunday.
The South Sudan NBA talent is on its coaching staff: A 10-year NBA career gave birth to a notable track record as an assistant coach for Royal Ivey, who is bringing his chops as a longtime point guard and, currently, an assistant coach on Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets staff, to the international game.
Look no further than the three-point column for NBA traces on the Sudanese team: Ivey’s squad took 49 threes in the victory over Puerto Rico and made 23 of them. They play fast, defend at a high level and are making a name for themselves in Olympic competition.
Ivey also has former Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng as the lead assistant coaching South Sudan.
NBA talent on the sidelines, however, is not the same as NBA talent on the court.
Team USA is decorated, the flag-bearing LeBron James leading a roster so deep, neither reigning NBA champion Jayson Tatum nor breakout superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton were needed to unpack Serbia by 26.
Kevin Durant didn’t need any warmup games to catch a shooting rhythm: After missing all five exhibition games with a calf injury, Durant scored his first 21 points in under nine minutes off the bench and didn’t miss any of his first eight shots.
LeBron almost triple-doubled on the Serbians with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and Stephen Curry’s walk-off three gave him 11 points and cemented both a 26-point margin and a 1-0 Team USA record.
This, however, will be the final Olympic run for Team USA as the world knows it.
James is 39, Curry is 36 and Durant is 35. And while USA Basketball continues to reign supreme, other countries are beginning to close the distance.
Those are tomorrow’s problems.
Today, Team USA is on track for gold.
Today, the Americans dominate the sport.
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