By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Sasha Danilovic, a Serbian hoops legend and current president of the country’s basketball federation, believes that not only Nikola Jokic deserves the NBA MVP more than anyone else but that it’s long overdue for him to win the award.
“Jokic is having fun playing basketball and it’s pleasure to watch him. Every part of him. If by any chance he was an American, he would be an MVP six times already,” Danilovic said in an interview for Kurir.
Jokic has been making an ear-splittingly loud case for being the 2021 NBA MVP by putting on the court highly intelligent play, downright unstoppable performances and winning basketball that is as dominant as is unselfish.
Not only has Jokic been producing fat numbers (26.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, 8.4 assists) but also has his Denver Nuggets tied for the fourth-best record in the NBA, even with his partner in crime Jamal Murray being sidelined with a season-ending injury.
“For a long time, no one has been able to find anything negative about him. Except being a nice guy (laughs), that’s the only thing,” Danilovic, a former NBA player with the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks back in the 90s, added.
Back in his playing days, Danilovic was a prominent member of the Serbian national team, winning multiple medals in EuroBasket and Olympic tournaments. He’s been part of a legacy that has established basketball as the no. 1 sport in Serbia and now he sees this popularity increasing even more with NBAers like Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and others.
“With all due respect to other sports, a few years ago, I saw somewhere the statistics that after winning a medal, most children apply to basketball school,” Danilovic said. “We are a basketball nation, above all. It’s in our genes. I’ve been asked a thousand times why this is so, but I have no answer.