Nikola Jovic, a representative of Serbia and a forward for the Miami Heat, spoke to the FIBA website about his experience at the World Cup.
What helped the young player was that he arrived at the World Cup in excellent spirits. In his rookie season, he played in the NBA Finals, and that was crucial for him, for several reasons.
“What helped me was simply being in the NBA Finals. Just being with the team, helping them during training in any way I could, seeing how they prepare and how mentally challenging it is. And that’s why I went to the FIBA World Cup,” began Nikola Jovic.
The outcome of all that hard work was a good performance in the competition. Serbia won the silver medal, and the former Mega player fondly recalls it.
“That’s a great result. Above all, it shows how hard the whole team worked and how much we believed in each other. Nobody believed in us. We just competed, and that was very important to us and we believed in each other and brought joy to our nation. We haven’t won anything in six years. It meant a lot to everyone, we just need to continue building on that legacy and let people know that we are a basketball country,” he said.
With the Olympics around the corner, it’s clear what Jovic’s goal is – a medal.
“Last year at the FIBA World Cup, our goal was to give our all and see where we would end up. Of course, a medal is something we really crave. We want to win something. But you never know. And it doesn’t just depend on us. There are many factors that need to align for us to win a medal. But we will give it our all and see where that takes us,” concluded Jovic.