Nikola Jokic quietly has Serbia in the mix for Olympic gold as team faces US in semifinals

PARIS — Nikola Jokic was headed to the locker room in Bercy Arena after having just helped his team complete the largest comeback in Olympic basketball history in its quarterfinal win over Australia.

He looked up and saw a throng of reporters awaiting in the area reserved for media members, armed with questions about how Serbia and the NBA star keep surviving in the face of elimination.

But Jokic didn’t have much to say.

“Niko, one question?” a reporter asked.

“No, thank you,” he said quietly as he strolled past, offering a fist bump to another nearby reporter.

It wasn’t a surprise or a slight. Jokic has yet to answer any questions from the media during the Paris Olympics.

Jokic prefers to do his talking on the court in France.

“He’s great. But he doesn’t like to talk to media — you know that,” teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic said of the Denver Nuggets star. “In the NBA, if he doesn’t talk to media, he’ll get fined. But here, there are no fines. Here, it’s voluntary. He says, ‘I don’t need to.’ No offense to you guys.”

It hasn’t stopped the three-time NBA MVP from leading Serbia to a semifinal matchup with the four-time defending gold medal-winning U.S. team. They square off Thursday.

Serbia is aiming to be on the Olympic podium for the first time since the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, where it won silver. That was the first Olympics for the then 21-year-old Jokic, who was coming off his rookie NBA season.

In the eight years since, he’s risen to one of that league’s preeminent stars, adding an NBA championship (2023) to his resume.

But he’s yet to reach the pinnacle of the Olympics.

The Americans eased past Jokic and company during their matchup in the group stage of the tournament, posting a 110-84 victory in the opening game for both teams. The x-factor in the rematch could be Jokic, who had 20 points, five rebounds and eight assists in that loss.

During the 30:45 minutes he was on the court against the U.S in that game, the teams both scored 81 points. In the 9:15 he was on the bench, Serbia was outscored 29-3.

Jokic also is coming off a strong effort during Serbia’s 95-90 overtime win over Australia, in which his team erased a 24-point deficit in a game that saw Jokic post 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. That outing came after Serbia was tested during its final group stage game, overcoming a five-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat an upstart South Sudan team ranked 33rd in the world.

“He stays focused for all minutes on the court,” Serbia guard Vasilije Micic said. “If he can do that, we all can do that.”

Bogdanovic said Jokic has been their catalyst.

“He makes the game easier,” Bogdanovic said. “Nothing is easy, of course, but he makes it easier. It’s fun to play with him.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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