Svetislav Pesic: 'Jokic and Doncic are best Europeans who've ever played in NBA' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP, Alexander Shcherbak/TASS - Scanpix Credit AP, Alexander Shcherbak/TASS - Scanpix

The Serbian national team head coach Svetislav Pesic gave a lecture to the students of Nikola Tesla University in Belgrade.

Free throws this season

77%16,5Points made:16,5Accuracy:77,2%Place in standings:20Record max:32Record min:4Most made FTs:Luka DoncicTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

A couple of Pesic's answers touched on European basketball superstars and Nikola Jokic's availability for the upcoming EuroBasket 2022, via MozzartSport.

"Jokic will play for the national team only under one condition, and that is to become a better player through the Serbian national team. It is not a question of whether he loves his country. That is undoubted. He is a proud Serb, who writes messages to me in Cyrillic.

We have to find a way to motivate him to compete with the best players in Europe. If he is not motivated, if he has no interest, then there is no point in playing," Pesic pointed out.

Last week, Jokic was officially named NBA MVP for the second straight season. He is the 13th player to win back-to-back MVPs.

The Joker averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.5 steals this season for the Denver Nuggets.

He led the NBA with 19 triple-doubles and became the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists in a season.

"There is no doubt that Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are the best European players who have ever played in the NBA. They are changing the way players compete in the strongest league of the world. Moreover, they are constantly improving. Every year they bring something new.

Talking about Nikola, he absolutely deserves the recognition, even his biggest rival Joel Embiid congratulated him," the 72-year-old Serbian specialist spoke to the students.

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