For a guy who’s won three MVPs, a championship and a Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic just got something new.
Jokic wore the captain armband for the first time in his career Thursday, leading Serbia to a 97-73 blowout of Switzerland in FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying. He finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists with zero turnovers — a near triple-double in a game that was never really in doubt. The win clinched Serbia’s spot in the second round of European qualifying on the Road to Qatar 2027.
“This is the first time in my life that I am the captain of a team and it means a lot to me,” Jokic told BasketNews. “I told the team that after the game, I will remember this for the rest of my life, because it means a lot to me and it is a great feeling.”
Jokic shared game-high scoring honors with Nikola Jovic, the Heat forward who also poured in 22 points with five assists and two blocks. Nikola Tanaskovic added 16, Aleksa Avramovic scored 13 and Stefan Momirov chipped in 11 as Serbia racked up 32 assists as a team. Coach Dusan Alimpijevic’s ball-movement system was humming.
“From the very beginning, the head coach wanted us to play that way — to emphasize ball movement, make the extra pass, and find the best possible shot,” Jokic said.
The Serbian fans traveling to Fribourg made it feel like a home game. And that has Jokic excited about what’s next: a date with Bosnia and Herzegovina Monday at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall — the legendary Pionir Arena in Belgrade — where Jokic hasn’t played in over a decade.
“If it felt like home over there, we can only imagine what it’s going to be like here,” Jokic said.
Jamal Murray, for what it’s worth, was in the stands to watch Jokic work.
That’s a nice detail for Nuggets fans trying to read the tea leaves this offseason. Denver’s two franchise pillars are clearly still on good terms, even overseas, even in July.
As we wrote when Jokic committed to the Serbian national team this summer: His decision likely means he didn’t undergo the cleanup surgery on a wrist that has bugged him for nearly a decade. His knee got roughly nine weeks of rest before he took the court again. He looked noticeably lean and agile in Switzerland, sparking buzz about his conditioning. That’s a big deal after the bone bruise in December limited him for stretches of a season that ended in a first-round exit against the Timberwolves.
Serbia now sits at 3-2 in Group C, locked into the second round behind Turkey (5-0). Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-3) and Switzerland (0-5) round out the group. Monday’s matchup with Bosnia in Belgrade is the final game of the first-round window — and with results carrying over into the second round, every win matters.
The bigger picture hasn’t changed. Jokic has now played over 40 games for the Serbian senior national team dating back to 2016, putting him firmly among the most invested international stars of his generation. He’s earned an Olympic silver, an Olympic bronze, and All-Star team honors at each of his last two major tournaments. All of it builds toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics at the Intuit Dome.
