If you ask Bill Simmons, no other member of Team USA is more excited to face Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the Olympics’ semifinal matchup than center Joel Embiid. Simmons believes there's an underlying rivalry between Jokic, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, and his predecessor in 2023 in Embiid that could take center stage in this game.

“It’s kind of this little bit of a rivalry that’s not really a rivalry, but Embiid’s ducked a couple of the Denver games, and it’s always like Embiid likes when the deck is stacked on his side when he’s going against Jokic, basically,” Simmons said. “Now he has the best team possible. I do wonder, I never know with the NBA, but there’s always, like, especially when it’s American vs. foreign, I do wonder if the American team is going to be like, ‘let’s try to lay it to Jokic’ a little bit here. He’s won the three MVPs; he won the title a couple of years ago.”

With Team USA facing Serbia in the Olympic semifinals, will Jokic receive the same treatment that the 1992 USA Dream Team handed to Croatia’s young and up-and-coming Toni Kukoc?

“They’re going to try to Kukoc him here, you think?” Bill Simmons’ guest, Rob Mahoney, asked.

“Well, just like we love Embiid because it really does seem like everybody on this team loves each other,” Simmons replied. “I do wonder in that first quarter if they’re going to be like, let’s really try to work Jokic with Joel Embiid here and kind of build that rivalry up.”

Team USA and Serbia will face off in the Olympic semi finals on Thursday.

Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen & Team USA vs. Toni Kukoc, Croatia

Jul 3, 1992; Portland, OR, USA: FILE PHOTO; USA dream team guard Michael Jordan - Michael Jordan - Scottie Pippen and Chris Mullin prior to the game against Puerto Rico during the 1992 Tournament of the Americas at Memorial Coliseum.
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Before signing a $17.6 million deal with the Chicago Bulls in July 1993, a young Kukoc led Croatia to the gold medal match against the 1992 USA Dream Team. However, when Team USA faced Kukoc and Croatia in their first matchup, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen set out to not only put the defensive clamps on Kukoc but crush him with aggressive, physical play.

“I never seen that kind of defense before,” Kukoc said afterward, per The New York Times. Adding years later, in Jack McCollum’s 2012 book, “Dream Team,” “I thought that was the way they guarded everybody,” per NBC Sports.

Kukoc couldn’t find his offense in the preliminary round meeting between these two teams, as he finished with just four points on 2-of-11 shooting in the 103-70 loss. He did manage to bounce back in the gold medal game where Croatia lost 117-85, as he finished with 16 points, nine assists, and five rebounds,

Still, it wasn’t personal. Jordan and Pippen’s decision to “toughen Kukoc up” had less to do with Toni and more to do with Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, who was reluctant to renegotiate Pippen’s new contract but shelled out nearly $20 million to sign Kukoc.