With a population of roughly 6.6 million, the country of Serbia winning any one Olympic medal is a massive achievement in itself. And the most celebrated Serbian medal from the Paris Olympics just might be three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Co. capturing the bronze for men’s basketball.
After beating Germany in a game where Nikola Jokic dropped the fifth triple-double in men’s Olympic history and became the first player ever to lead the entire Olympic field in points, rebounds, and assists, they knew how they had to celebrate.
In fact, because they had an early morning game against the Germans, the Serbians had a lot of time to kill. So, after receiving just the eighth men’s basketball medal in the nation’s history on Saturday, Jokic and friends ventured to really maximize their time for the rest of the day.
But even after all the fun they had together, and after Team USA dispatched France, Serbia had to return to get its bronze medals from the International Olympic Committee … while being filmed on international television.
It’s almost like they accounted for this.
Throughout the ceremony, it was clear that a wobbly Nikola Jokic was still living it up after winning a medal with his countrymen:
Every piece of it seemed to be positively delightful for Jokic and the Serbians:
Check out this moment with Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol:
Never doubt that the Serbians know how to live in the moment and revel in something they accomplished. As ever, after achieving glory on an international stage, they were led even here by their leader, Jokic — the man who, once again, proved he was the best player in the world during this Olympic tournament.