Serbian Coach Explains Why EuroBasket Team Is More Than Jokic and Bogdanovic

This week, Serbian EuroBasket coach Svetislav Pešić said that his team is so much more than NBA standouts Nikola Jokić and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

When international tournaments such as the Olympics come around, NBA players are often eager to play for their home country. This year's EuroBasket Tournament, which will conclude in Riga, Latvia, has attracted some of the best talent from around the league.

The Serbian team looks to be especially loaded this year as it features multi-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has averaged 14.9 points per game over the course of his NBA career.

But Pešić recently told reporters that his team is much more than those two stars, telling Serbian network RTS:

"This is not a team of Jokić and Bogdanović and the remaining 10. This is a team of 10 players plus Jokić and Bogdanović. When you understand that, then you’ll understand why we are a team. This team has continuity, individual quality… I tell one player: 'You will be Jokić, do you understand? But Jokić will never be you either. Jokić is Jokić. Give what you know best and are good at.'"

During tournaments like EuroBasket, the teams that go deep are often the ones that have the most cohesive units. The Serbian team doesn't just have stars who have been playing overseas for a long time like Vasilije Micic and Filip Petrusev. That's not even mentioning up-and-coming players like Nikola Topic and Nikola Jovic. So Coach Pešić is right about this team being more than just the two stars.