Shocking EuroBasket Upsets Leave NBA Star and Olympic Silver Medalists Eliminated

This weekend was an exciting one for EuroBasket with some shocking surprises. NBA stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic continued to propel their teams to big wins with incredible performances – no surprises there. However, the big shocks came from two big upsets. The first was Finland taking down Nikola Jokic and Serbia. Then, Team France, the silver medalists in the 2024 Olympics, were eliminated by Finland.

This is a big deal. The two best European teams are now out of the EuroBasket tournament; the field is wide open. Serbia and France were the only two teams that got close to beating Team USA in the Paris Olympics and were rewarded with bronze and silver medals. 

While France is considered the best European team, they are missing many of their top players for this tournament. With Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, they weren’t expected to be as dominant as they were in the Olympics. 

Serbia, on the other hand, has fewer excuses. Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player in the world. He should be able to carry Serbia at least late into the tournament on his power alone. But, without Bogdan Bogdanovic and a few other key guys, Serbia couldn’t support Jokic enough. 

Now the EuroBasket field is wide open. Germany is the favorite, with Turkey and Greece following them. Germany certainly has the most battle-tested and well-rounded team. However, they don’t have the star power of Greece or even Slovenia. 

Luka has willed Slovenia to some incredible success in international play. Could he do it again and show everyone how dangerous the Lakers will be next season? Or will Germany prove that they are still the best European team despite their disappointing Olympics? We will see as the EuroBasket tournament unfolds.