Nikola Jokic and Mladen Mijic will not be part of the Serbian national team at the World Championships, preparing for the first season in the NBA - Eurosport

On Monday, it will be officially announced who has been called up to the Serbian national team for the upcoming World Cup at the end of August in Asia, but it seems that Nikola Jokic's absence is no longer in doubt. The NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets, who was named Finals MVP, has decided to spend the summer in peace to fully recover after a long season that ended with a title and to best prepare for the next one. Jokic represented his national team at the 2019 World Cup in China and at last year's European Championships in 2022, which ended for the Balkans with a defeat in the Round of 16 against Italy. The Serbian site Mozzart Sport reported on the absence of the Sombor player from the tournament.

It seems that another NBA star on the team, Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, tried until the last moment to change Jokic's mind, but he stuck to his decision and chose not to participate in the tournament, informing the Federation and head coach Pesic about it.

According to Mozzart Sport, Nikola Kalinić and Vasilije Micić will not be present at the World Championship in Asia.

Nikola Jokic: "Winning isn't everything... I need to go home."