Vucevic on Jokic and Wemby’s impact: “Everyone wants to play like them”

Photo: Goran Dragic Foundation

By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net

The Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, has been buzzing with basketball stars in the last couple of days. Goran Dragic gathered the basketball elite for his farewell game, and Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic was among them.

The Montenegrin player, who’s been playing in the NBA for 13 years, was in awe of Dragic’s special night and illustrious career.

A big event for him and basketball in general. The fact that he managed to gather so many former and current players, so many big names in one place, just shows the kind of career he had, how much people appreciate him, and how much he meant to basketball. It’s an honor for me to be invited among all these legends and current players,said Vucevic to Meridian Sport.

Despite having a great impact in the NBA, Dragic’s biggest success was on the international level, winning the 2017 EuroBasket with Slovenia. And talking international basketball, Vucevic acknowledged that the rest of the world is catching up with the NBA, as shown at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Serbia was on the verge of knocking out Team USA in the semifinals.

However, Vucevic believes that if international tournaments were played according to NBA rules, it would be much harder for other countries to beat the U.S. national team.

If NBA rules were applied, it would be much harder for FIBA teams. First, the three-point line in the NBA is half a meter farther, which is not small in basketball. The three seconds in defense is also a big deal; I know that from my experience. It’s different offensively, too; it’s much easier for me to cover space on defense here than there. If they played by NBA rules, the U.S. would be even stronger.

Speaking about the NBA, Vucevic commented on his time with the Chicago Bulls. He joined the Windy City team in 2021, but even though they had players like him, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso, success didn’t follow—mainly due to injuries.

Since Lonzo Ball’s injury, we haven’t been able to achieve the results we could have. It disrupted us a lot. When he played, we were at the top of the East for a while, which maybe wasn’t a realistic result, even though we were playing well, but with him, we would have fought for anything between third and sixth place in the end. The rest of us focus more on scoring: LaVine, DeRozan, and me. He brought us all together, sped up the game, meant a lot on defense, guarding the best players with Caruso… Although his numbers might not have been impressive, he meant a lot to us. We tried with young players, and then we had numerous injuries. Trade talks also affected us, preventing us from achieving the results we thought we could, but when results don’t follow, changes come… DeRozan left, Caruso left, the team got younger, and they wanted to go in a different direction. We’ll see how the season goes, and then decisions will be made based on that.

Being part of the Bulls franchise is undoubtedly special. Chicago still remembers the glory days with Michael Jordan.

As good as that is, in a way, it creates maybe an unrealistic image of what people expect from the Bulls, but it’s still all around us. People remember the 90s; that was one of the greatest eras in basketball history. Jordan is Jordan. Suddenly, there was a boom; the NBA had never been so popular. People then compare, like, when Jordan was here… I’d like to compare myself with Jordan, too, but it’s not realistic. As much as I believe in myself and think I’m a good player, we’re not in the same category.

Vucevic also shared his thoughts about his fellow big man Nikola Jokic and his dominance in the NBA.

Judging by what he’s shown so far, he is definitely among the best players who have ever played. Three MVPs, a championship, stats, All-Star appearances… His résumé is already great, and he still has much playing to do before he finishes. Surely, when he finishes, he will be among the best players in basketball history, maybe even the best center of all time. It’s just a question of how long he wants to keep playing at this level. The longer he does it, the more he will leave such a deep mark that it will be hard for anyone to surpass him. He is already the best player in the world right now, and when he finishes, he will be among the greatest of all time.

The three-time NBA MVP made a huge impact on the game.

I was talking with Bosh and Nowitzki about how things have changed. Bosh was one of the first power forwards who had to play as a center. Even though he didn’t want to when he arrived in Miami, he was forced to. It was hard for me to guard a player like that. Now, very few centers play with their backs to the basket, traditional fives; they almost play like power forwards used to. As a center, you must know how to put the ball on the floor, drive, shoot, pass, read the game, and let the team play through you… There was talk that centers were disappearing; we didn’t disappear, but we adapted to the new way of playing, and now we’ve changed how centers are used and impact the game. When great players emerge, everyone wants to play like them. There was Curry, now there’s Jokic, and there was Giannis, too. That can’t be replicated. Jokic is one of a kind. You can build a team to compete with him, but no one can do what he does, play the way they play.

Another center threatens to change the game—the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama.

Now that he’s emerged, he will change the game in a way. As the season progressed, he advanced and adapted. He didn’t know if he was a five, a four, or a point guard. Over time, he found himself. He’s 220 centimeters tall, with movements like a guard. Physically, he’s weaker than us, but he has the height and the wingspan. There were times when I got to the basket, made a move that worked against everyone, took the shot—and he just blocked it. You can’t see the hoop because of him.

Vucevic joined the NBA in 2011. The Philadelphia 76ers selected him as the 16th overall draft pick, but the 33-year-old center spent most of his overseas career with the Orlando Magic (2012-2021).

He’s been at the top level for more than a decade and doesn’t plan to stop soon.

I’m aware that I’ve been in the NBA for 13 years now, that the end is not that far off. I don’t believe I’ll play another 13 years, but I have two more years with Chicago, and I’d like to play two more after that. I think I can play at a high level for that long, and then I’ll see. I don’t think much about it now. I feel great. I enjoy the game, and my sons are becoming a bigger motivation; they’re a little older now and aware of what I do, and they come to practices and games. I’d like them to remember that I played basketball at a high level. I’d like people to remember me for who I was, not just see me off, but let me say, ‘Thank you.’” Nikola Vucevic concluded.

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