BELGRADE (Serbia) - Nikola Jokic is a giant step closer to playing for Serbia at the Olympics after being named in a 16-man squad ahead of the event in France.
The country's basketball federation confirmed on Monday that the three-time NBA MVP was back with the team, with Serbia, last year's runners-up at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and among the favorites to win the gold medal.
Jokic was the MVP of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade before leading Serbia to the Final in Rio de Janeiro. He was most recently with the national team at the star-studded FIBA EuroBasket 2022.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, a member of the All-Star Five at the World Cup, is on the list as well as Aleksa Avramovic, who has turned into one of his country's best players in recent years.
Numerous players that featured at the World Cup are on the roster, but so are important ones that were not, like Vasilije Micic, the 30-year-old point guard coming off his rookie season in the NBA which saw him play for Oklahoma City and Charlotte.
The national team will officially begin getting ready for the Olympics on June 24, with behind-closed-doors friendlies against the Netherlands on July 5 and Turkey on July 7.
Meanwhile, the first official friendly will be in Lyon against Olympic hosts France on July 12.
Serbia will then travel to Abu Dhabi to square off against Australia on July 16 and the USA on July 17.
Next will be a warmup game against Japan on July 21 in the Belgrade Arena. Serbia will play in Group C at the Olympics against USA, South Sudan and the team that wins the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
FIBA