Nikola Jokic says it's good moment to be Serbian, reflects on Europe's impact on NBA / News - Basketnews.com

Nikola Jokic admits that European players have an impact on the NBA and says that now it's the greatest era in Serbian sports, with Novak Djokovic winning his 23 Grand Slam and him winning the NBA championship.

Credit: Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic guided his team to the first-ever NBA championship over the Miami Heat this past night, while his countryman Novak Djokovic won his record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title in French Open on Sunday, breaking a tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men's tennis.

Player of the Game EFF 36 Nikola Jokic Points 28 Accuracy 12-16 Rebounds 16 Assists 4

When asked about the current state of Serbian sports, Jokic expressed his belief that it is indeed the greatest era for the country's athletics.

"It gotta be," Jokic said.

Then he opened his phone and tried to check if Novak Djokovic congratulated him on winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy and NBA Finals MVP award but saw how many notifications and texts he got and avoided doing so.

"Oh, f**k. I'm gonna turn off the phone," Jokic said amusingly and then continued:

"Sport in Serbia is something that puts us in front of everybody, even 10-20 years ago, whatever. Especially now when we have Djokovic who won the [French Open], who is probably one of the best ever [tennis players]. For us, he is the best ever, of course.

"Now we have an NBA championship, and I think it's a really good moment to be a Serbian," Jokic underlined.

He also talked about the Europeans' impact on the NBA.

Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo navigated the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship in 2021, and now Jokic joined his fellow European with an NBA title.

"We have an impact," Jokic said. "Of course, Americans are the majority o the league, and they are supposed to be because the USA I don't know how many gold medals they won in a row, and then Spain won in the last years but I think there are some European players and there will be some European players contributing to winning and giving that edge to the good teams to win championships."

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