Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Serbia fell just short of upsetting the gold medal-favorites United States during the Men's Basketball Semifinals at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, losing 91-95. However, Jokic was still able to make some history during the heartbreaking defeat.
Jokic ended Thursday's semifinal loss with 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block. That performance made the Serbian superstar the first player to record a double-double in four straight games at the Olympics since Detlef Schrempf and Arvydas Sabonis pulled off the feat during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, via FIBA basketball.
Against Australia in the quarterfinals, Jokic had a 21 point, 14 rebound double-double. In the final group stage game against South Sudan, he had 22 points and 11 rebounds. In the second group stage game against Puerto Rico, he had 14 points at 15 rebounds.
Shrempf and Sabonis are basketball legends. Sabonis, who was widely considered the best Eurupean player during his era, is frequently compared to Jokic for their similar styles of play. While Jokic, a three-time MVP and NBA champion has little left to prove, he is still building up his own Olympic legacy.
Nikola Jokic asserts himself as Olympic legend
Even though Serbia came up short of winning a gold medal, Jokic has been one of, if not the best player at the Paris Olympics and showed why many call the 6-11 playmaking big man the best player in the world. He was able to take a Serbia team that featured only three other current NBA players down to the wire against the United States, one of the greatest collections of talent ever assembled at any level.
Jokic and Serbia will still have an opportunity to compete for a bronze medal on Saturday against Germany. That would be Jokic's second Olympic medal, after he led Serbia to a silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics. While Germany is an excellent team in their own right, led by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner and a host of other NBA players, if Jokic is able to keep playing the way he has been, Serbia should have no issue securing the bronze medal.
Few players, especially non-Americans, in history have ever had the type of success that Jokic has had at both the NBA and international level. While a gold medal is still eluding Jokic, it's safe to say that he is putting together a resume that places him in the conversation with the all-time greats.
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