By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic is widely considered the best and most influential Serbian athlete of all time. Yet he chooses to name someone else as the country’s pride in the field of sports: Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
“He’s the pride of Serbia,” Djokovic said on Jokic while being interviewed on Tennis Chanel. “We’re so proud of him. We hope he can win his first ring.” An avid basketball fan who frequently attends EuroLeague games of his beloved Crvena Zvezda, Djokovic will watch as Jokic and the Nuggets will face either the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat in their pursuit to win their first-ever NBA championship.
“We pride ourselves that we’re quite good at basketball throughout our history. But we never had someone as successful in the NBA as he is,” said Nole, a huge praise considering how many basketball giants has Serbia produced over the years.
This kind of admiration goes both ways. A few days ago, Jokic had described Djokovic as the “Serbian ambassador,” an “idol” to the kids of Serbia and a person he aspires to be like.
“I’m flattered honestly,” Djokovic commented. “I’m really grateful. We haven’t been in touch. Actually, I just got his number yesterday. I’ll text him. It’s difficult to get his number nowadays. I want to text him to say thank you because he really touched me with really wonderful words. I feel the same about him.”
Here’s Djokovic’s full quotes on Jokic:
“The Sombor Shuffle. I actually watched it half an hour ago on the NBA Instagram page. They’ve posted some of the shots that he makes with one foot going backward, over AD and LeBron and Durant. It’s incredible.”
He’s the MVP for me for sure.
I don’t think anyone can do what he’s doing at the moment in basketball. Definitely the best basketball in the world right now. I cheer for him greatly. He’s an amazing guy. He’s the pride of Serbia. We’re so proud of him. We hope he can win his first ring.
“I’m flattered honestly. I’m really grateful. We haven’t been in touch. Actually, I just got his number yesterday. I’ll text him. It’s difficult to get his number nowadays. I want to text him to say thank you because he really touched me with really wonderful words. I feel the same about him.
He’s so humble, such a simple guy. And he comes in in one of the most popular leagues in the world in all sports like the NBA. And he just dominates for three years. Which is incredible. Listening to LeBron and AD, all the guys talk about him. Embiid, Antetokounmpo. How much praise they got for him.
It makes me proud. I’m a big basketball fan and Serbia is a big basketball nation. We pride ourselves that we’re quite good at basketball throughout our history. But we never had someone as successful in the NBA as he is. All the kudos to him. Hopefully, I can watch him play live some day.”