Gilgeous-Alexander remembers Avramovic: 'It's a thorn in his side' / News - Basketnews.com

Gilgeous-Alexander wants to play against Serbia again after un underwhelming game in the 2023 FIBA World Cup when he was guarded by Aleksa Avramovic. "It's a thorn in his side," his teammate, Vasilije Micic, said.

Credit: AP Photo/David Zalubowski - Scanpix; FIBA Credit AP Photo/David Zalubowski - Scanpix; FIBA

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the most dominant player in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Until he met Serbia and Aleksa Avramovic in the semifinal.

Points this season

50%120,8Points made:120,8Accuracy:50,1%Place in standings:4Record max:140Record min:95Best scorer:Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The Oklahoma City Thunder's superstar averaged 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game in the tournament. In the game against Serbia, he shot only 8 field goals, making four, and scored 15 points, his second-lowest in the tournament despite playing 34 minutes.

Serbia's point guard, Aleksa Avramovic, was tasked to guard Gilgeous-Alexander one-on-one, coming up clutch defensively a number of times. After the game, he even said he studied SGA for several days leading up to the matchup.

"They remember, of course. I have a great relationship with Shai, really, and Lou [Dort] is a great guy. It's a serious thorn in Shai's side and we joke about it all the time," Gilgeous-Alexander's teammate, Vasilije Micic, told in an interview with B92.

"He even said yesterday that he can't wait to play against Serbia again and that he would play, as he said, the best game of his life. So he definitely remembers Aleksa and the entire national team. But I think that bronze is a great success for them, for the national team, because they won a medal for the first time. Of course, that silver and that victory in the semi-final had a lot of influence and made it easier for me when I came here, in terms of some respect from them," Micic said.

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