A Guide to the Serbia Men’s Basketball Team
The Serbia men’s basketball team is one of Europe’s elite programmes, with 2022/23 NBA Champion and Finals MVP Nikola Jokić, the star talent, ably supported by Bogdan Bogdanović, who has delivered back-to-back All-Star Five FIBA World Cup performances.
The side first competed in an international competition as Serbia in 2007 (they previously competed as FR Yugoslavia then Serbia and Montenegro after the Yugoslavia side disbanded). Since then, they’ve finished runners-up in five major competitions; two silver medals at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, a silver at the Olympics and two FIBA EuroBasket silver medals.
Want to uncover more about what makes the Serbia men’s basketball team so great? Here at Courtside 1891, we’ve created this in-depth guide. Read on to discover lots of details about the team’s history, legendary players and current stars.
2024 Summer Olympics - Men's Basketball
The Serbia men's basketball team are confirmed as one of the twelve nations that will compete at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Serbia automatically qualified for Paris 2024 thanks to their performance at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The Olympic basketball events will take place between 27th July and 10th of August 2024. The nations currently confirmed to participate are France (host), South Sudan, Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, Australia and Serbia.
The four remaining places will be confirmed through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024, which you can stream live with Courtside 1891. The tournaments are currently scheduled for July 2-7 2024.
From Europe, the competing Olympic qualifying tournament nations are Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Finland, Poland and Croatia.
Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico advanced from the Americas region, following positive results at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They will be joined by the Bahamas, who shocked Argentina in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in La Banda, Argentina.
Egypt, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon are the competing African nations.
From Asia and Oceania, the teams that advanced were Lebanon, the Philippines, New Zealand and Bahrain.
How Did Serbia Do At The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023?
Here are the top stats from Serbia's FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign:
- → Final Standing: 2nd (silver medal)
- → Results: Played 8 Won 6 Lost 2
- → Top Points Scorer: Bogdan Bogdanović 153 PTS (19.1 PPG)
- → Top Assist Provider: Stefan Jović 45 AST (5.6 APG)
- → Most Efficient Player: Bogdan Bogdanović 21.6 EPG
Without superstar center, Nikola Jokić, Serbia entered the tournament with a lighter weight of expectation and thrived playing a different style of basketball. Led by captain, Bogdan Bogdanović, Serbia sailed through the First Group Phase. Nikola Milutinov showed his pedigree as the starting center, averaging 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds. Serbia also had to contend with a serious injury to Boriša Simanić, who had to have surgery to remove his kidney after taking an elbow from South Sudan's Nuni Omot.
Serbia split their Second Group Phase games, narrowly losing to Italy 76-78 before dispatching the Dominican Republic to set up an all-Balkans Quarter Final clash with Lithuania.
A convincing victory led to a Semi-Final with Canada, where their big tournament experience shone through. Canada, who were making their first Semi-Final appearance of a global basketball tournament in the modern era, could not recover from a blistering first half by the Serbians, who claimed a famous 95-86 victory. Check out highlights from the game, below.
In the FIBA World Cup Final against Germany, Serbia had a 26-23 lead at the end of Q1 with the game tied at half-time. A poor third quarter saw them only score 10 points. Despite a heroic 21-point game off the bench by Aleksa Avramović, Serbia could not erase the 12-point deficit, falling to an 83-77 defeat that saw them fall just short of gold medal glory once again since gaining independence from Yugoslavia.
For the second World Cup running, Bogdan Bogdanović was named to the All-Star Five team, cementing his status as one of the best to represent the proud basketball nation of Serbia.
2023 World Cup Team Presentation Video
With our Team Discovery Video, you can boost your knowledge about Serbia and the successes of ‘Orlovi’ (The Eagles) released ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
- → Pre-World Cup FIBA Men’s World Ranking - 6th
- → 2 FIBA Basketball World Cup gold medals
- → 6 FIBA EuroBasket medals, including three golds
- → Qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 7 times
Team Presentation - Serbia - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
World Cup Qualification
The Serbia basketball team began the qualification process for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Group A, alongside Latvia, Belgium and Slovakia. Here, they stumbled to a 3-3 record that was only good enough for third place. Thankfully, as the top three teams in each four-team group qualified for the next and final phase of qualifying, Serbia still advanced.
In this phase, the Serbian squad turned up the heat. They went 3-1, only losing an away game against Greece in Athens. Even this game went to overtime, with Serbia eventually losing 97-92.
Ultimately, this meant that Serbia finished second in the group, with a 6-4 record. They also had the last laugh over Greece - they pipped them to second place based on head-to-head record by a single point (192-191)! The race between the two sides couldn’t have been tighter - both of their head-to-head matches went to OT.
Best World Cup Qualifying Plays
Many of the qualification matches for the FIBA World Cup 2023 took place over the course of the NBA season, meaning that superstar Nikola Jokić was only able to take part in two World Cup qualifying games for Serbia. These were in the lead-up to FIBA EuroBasket 2022.
In fact, across the qualification games, coach Pešić chopped and changed his lineup regularly. That said, he did use Marko Jagodić-Kuridža and Dušan Ristić as anchors for the side.
Both delivered for their legendary head coach, with Ristić notching up 100 points in 184 minutes. He also grabbed 51 rebounds and ended the qualification phase with a cumulative +/- of +23. Similarly, Jagodić-Kuridža played more than 200 minutes and ended the qualification campaign with a cumulative +/- of +42. This was the second-highest on the team, behind only Aleksa Avramović, who was the team’s leading point scorer. He scored 121 points in only seven games.
Keen to see Serbia’s best bits from the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification process? Then check out this handy video, which includes the side’s Top 10 plays.
Best Plays - Serbia - FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers 2023
Current Star Players
Serbia announced its 20-man preliminary roster for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 on July 24, 2023. Sadly for all hoops fans and Serbia supporters, Nikola Jokić was not named in the squad. The star center claimed his first ring and Finals MVP award this year, and has played a lot of domestic and international basketball during his rise to the top of the game.
When it comes to national team duty, the man known as ‘The Joker’ is always serious. He made his FIBA Basketball World Cup debut with the side in 2019 and played a vital role at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when Serbia claimed silver. Joining him on the absentee list is fellow front court player, Nikola Kalinić of Barcelona.
The 2023 World Cup squad will be led by Bogdan Bogdanović of the Atlanta Hawks, who was the tournament’s second top scorer in 2019 and made the All-Star Five. Some positive news was that 7ft tall OKC Thunder combo forward Aleksej Pokuševski has been named in the wider squad on his road back to fitness. Another exciting young Miami Heat prospect, Nikola Jović, saw limited playing time during the NBA Finals against Jokić this year, but the experience will stand him in good stead ahead of what might be a more active role for Serbia.
Seven players who represented Serbia at EuroBasket 2022 were on the World Cup roster, including 6’6” Fenerbahce wing, Marko Guduric, who will be making his second competition appearance.
If all these players do make themselves available and feature in the final squad, the Serbia basketball team could be a force to be reckoned with.
Legends of the Team
Jokić may be the current star of Serbian basketball, but many Srpski fans will tell you that Dejan Bodiroga remains the greatest Serbian basketball player of all time.
Bodiroga, who is now the president of EuroLeague Basketball, was a EuroLeague icon in the early 2000s. A star at the small forward position, he was a versatile player who could also play at both guard spots.
Bodiroga’s international career was stellar. Representing FR Yugoslavia, he won two FIBA World Cup gold medals (1998 and 2002), and the first of these victories came with an MVP title.
Outside the World Cup, he won three EuroBasket gold medals (1995, 1997 and 2001), as well as a bronze medal in 1999. He also won a silver medal at the Summer Olympics in 1996.
With the national titles came a number of personal accolades, too. In 1998 and 2002, he received the Golden Badge award, which was presented to the best athlete of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav Olympic Committee also declared him as the Sportsman of the Year on both occasions.
One of the greatest European players of all time, Bodiroga also dominated domestically, winning the EuroLeague three times. He was also named as the EuroLeague’s Player of the Decade in 2010.
Historical World Cup Performance
Serbia has a long history as a basketball-playing nation. However, the Serbia side we know today only has a short history. This is because Serbia’s players competed at the FIBA Basketball World Cup as part of Yugoslavia between 1950 and 1990. They then competed as FR Yugoslavia (1992 to 2003) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003 to 2006).
The record books show that all titles won by FR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro are credited to Serbia. This is because Serbia retained the place of The Basketball Federation of Serbia and Montenegro as a FIBA member.
This means that, since 1998, the side has officially won two FIBA Basketball World Cup golds (as FR Yugoslavia) and one silver (as Serbia). Since 1998, they’ve also qualified for every edition of the tournament.
Previous Successes and Tournament Wins
It’s a similar story at the Olympic Games. Since 1998, the side has won two silver medals (one as FR Yugoslavia and one as Serbia). Again, they’ve also qualified for every edition of the tournament since 1998.
At FIBA EuroBasket, Serbia has enjoyed an even greater amount of success. Here, they’ve claimed three gold medals and a bronze (as FR Yugoslavia) and two silver medals (both as Serbia).
How to Watch Serbia Men's Basketball
With Courtside 1891, worldwide fans can stream every game of FIBA international tournaments, as well as other competitions from around the world.
As FIBA’s premium streaming partner for the World Cup, Courtside 1891 provided access to every 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup game! Watch the competition's biggest games and best moments on-demand on our FIBA Basketball World Cup page.
The best way to make sure that you never miss a single second of the upcoming action is to download our app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play, or sign up to our website platform. Please be aware that, due to broadcasting rights and restrictions, access to some games might be restricted depending on your location. See our where-to-watch page for full details of upcoming competitions.
Looking for the latest results from the world of basketball? Head over to the Courtside 1891 Game Center. Here you’ll also find matchup times in your country as well as easy-to-access game highlights you can watch when you register with Courtside 1891.
