The legendary Dule Vujošević can often say that sport is important for the elan of a nation, and this was confirmed by the unprecedented basketball euphoria in 2023. It started with Večiti, Partizan and Crvena zvezda, who with the biggest budgets in history and exceptionally high-quality squads came out ahead of the other teams in the Euroleague. It was only the second time that the eternal rivals from Belgrade played during the same season in the strongest European basketball competition. The huge rivalry, which almost constantly crosses the border of healthy, raised the level of interest in basketball to unimagined limits, and the uniformity of the Euroleague and the competitiveness of the "eternal" contributed to basketball becoming one of the main topics of conversation among the citizens of Serbia. Due to the sheer number of matches, it seemed that every two days a new most important one was played, comparable in importance to the finals of Wimbledon or the World Cup in football.
PARTISAN'S CAMPAIGN ON EUROPE
At the beginning of the calendar year, it seemed that Red Star was on a better path than Partizan. The signings of Kampac and Vildoza, as well as the arrival of coach Duško Ivanović, led to a series of victories that positioned the red and whites ahead of Partizan both in the Euroleague and in the ABA League. Crvena zvezda also won the Radivoj Korać Cup in Nis, defeating Partizan Mozzart Bet in the semi-finals and Mega MIS in the final. However, the main advantage and driving force of the black and whites was on their bench, in the form of the coach with the most trophies in the history of European basketball, Željko Obradović. The authority and knowledge of the legendary Žoc, and the status of a deity he enjoys among Partizan fans, led them to believe in a turnaround. The black and whites started to win, then to win by playing better and better, then to win by playing the best basketball in all of Europe. Željko Obradović's company became the best attacking team in the Euroleague, and Partizan's matches are events for which more tickets are requested, which are remembered and retold. Stark Arena was suddenly cramped to accommodate everyone who wanted to come and see the punishing expedition that became the first Serbian team since 2016 to reach the quarterfinals of the Euroleague, that is, to the select company of the eight best teams of the Old Continent.
Partizan acted perhaps as the best team in Europe until two minutes before the end of the second game of the quarter-final series against the great Real Madrid. On the verge of a new victory and a big lead of 2:0, Sergio Ljulj provoked Partizan captain Kevin Panter with an unsportsmanlike foul, after which a general brawl ensued, from which the black and whites came out weakened for the injured Exum, and Panter and Lesor were suspended. The matches in Belgrade followed, which Real Madrid managed to solve in their favor with very small differences. Unfortunately, between the two Belgrade matches, a tragic event took place at the "Vladislav Ribnikar" Primary School, which plunged Serbia into darkness.
The fifth game in Madrid took place in a big fight and, unfortunately, another narrow victory for Real Madrid, who thus went to the final tournament of the Euroleague, which they would later win. Partizan was stopped at one of the last obstacles, three wins away from a new trophy and the title of European champion, but their European odyssey can and must be considered spectacular. Confirmation of the quality work and vast knowledge of Željko Obradović, if there was a need for it at all, came by winning the ABA League. The final series will be remembered as the best playoff series in the history of regional basketball, and Partizan emerged as the winner in five games. Željko Obradović thus managed in one season to return Partizan to the quarter-finals of the Euroleague after 13 years and to bring the black and whites the title of champion of the Adriatic League after 10 years.
JOKIĆ'S WAY TO BASKETBALL IMMORTALITY
As the Euroleague drew to a close, the focus of the domestic public shifted to the NBA, namely Nikola Jokić and his Denver Nuggets. After two seasons in which he was named the most valuable player in the best league in the world, Jokić is during the 2022/23 season. further improved your games and stats. Almost every morning we read about some new record that Nikola set, managing to exceed the achievements of NBA legends like Abdul Jabbar, Chamberlain, Magic, Bird and others. Apart from the numbers themselves, I was fascinated by the ease and versatility of his game. An indicator of how important he is to Denver's game can be found in the fact that Jokic led the entire NBA in the number of contacts with the ball during one game (98,6), so there was hardly an offensive Denver possession that was not started or ended by Jokic's move. Despite the fact that the ball came into his hands most often, it stayed in them for only 2,69 seconds on average, which is proof that he did not slow down or disrupt the attacking rhythm of his teammates. His vision of the game and feel for the pass made him one of the league's leading assists, and certainly the best center passer in basketball history.
After two individual MVP trophies, Nicole's goal was clear, and that is the title. Denver finished the regular season as the best team in the Western Conference, securing home court advantage going into the final series. In the first round, Minnesota was dominantly defeated by a score of 4:1 in the series, and then Phoenix, strengthened by Kevin Durant, with a score of 4:2. In the finals of the West, the famous Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, awaited them. Considering the history of the franchise from Los Angeles, as well as the popularity of LeBron, it is not surprising that the focus of the American sports public has completely shifted from the first place Denver to the seventh place Lakers. A long and uncertain series was expected, and it happened that Denver overcame a great opponent with an incredible score of 4:0.
In the big NBA finals, the Nuggets were defeated by the Miami Heat. By eliminating Milwaukee and Boston, Miami imposed itself as the most pleasant surprise of the playoffs, but in the final series they simply did not have any solution for Jokic. In five games, Jokic averaged a terrifying 30,2 points, 14 rebounds and 7,2 assists, leading Denver to the first NBA title in franchise history. As expected, Nikola also received the epithet of the best player of the final series, thus becoming only the fifth non-American player to receive the flattering award. Additionally, he is the first player in NBA history to finish the playoffs as the leading scorer (600 points), rebounder (269 rebounds) and assister (186 assists). Finally, he became the lowest drafted finals MVP award winner, as well as one of only 11 players to win a championship ring and at least two MVP awards in his career.
With a ring on his hand and several trophies on the shelves, Nikola Jokić walked into basketball immortality. Being the MVP of an NBA champion is something that is remembered, written about and retold. Due to his reticence, strange build and absence from social networks, Nikola is not sufficiently marketing interesting for the American media machine, but after June 2023, no serious discussion about the greatest players in the history of basketball will pass without mentioning his name, and therefore Serbian basketball.
NEW PAGES OF TOO RICH BASKETBALL TRADITION
Basketball fans in Serbia, who often woke up to watch Denver's games, are missing one more of his trophies, and that is gold with the national team. The NBA season is long and tiring, which must be at least part of the justification when the players thank the coach for the invitation and decide to dedicate the summer to rest and individual work. Nevertheless, generations of people who grew up on the successes of Kića and Praja, later Divac, Bodiroga, Đorđević, Danilović, Paspalje and others, find it difficult to accept that someone decides to miss the World Basketball Championship. The juniors, led by the super talented Nikola Topić, made a nice prelude to the senior championship by winning the gold medal at the European Championship held in "Chair" in Niš, with a victory in the final against Spain with a score of 81:71. An additional reason for satisfaction was brought by the national team members in the 3x3 category by defending the title of world champion in Vienna. In the final, the USA was defeated by a score of 21:19, which brought the team composed of Majstorović, Branković, Vasić and Stojačić to our country even the sixth gold medal from the world championships in 3×3 basketball.
The senior basketball team traveled to the World Championship in Manila without too many expectations, and therefore without public pressure. Apart from Jokić, coach Pešić was deprived of the help of several Euroleague and NBA players for various (un)justified reasons. According to the forecasts, Serbia is ranked in the second, and maybe even the third round of favorites. Apart from the undisputed USA, a lot was expected from Canada and Germany, as well as Spain, France, Lithuania and Australia. The Serbian national team completed the group stage without any result problems, but everything was overshadowed by the bizarre injury of Borisa Simanić, who suffered an elbow injury in the match against South Sudan. The seemingly innocuous blow resulted in two emergency surgeries after which Borisha had a kidney removed. The basketball world sent messages of support to Borisha in disbelief, and in the most difficult moments he found strength and sent support to his teammates.
Many Serbian national team members later marked Borisha's message on the group chat as a moment that united and encouraged the team, which managed to rise after the shocking defeat by Italy and went on to win convincingly against the Dominican Republic, Lithuania and Canada. The biggest burden on his back was Bogdan Bogdanović, a player who never said no to the national team, which often cost him freshness and health at the beginning of new NBA seasons. The now experienced Bogdan directed the team's game, playing with his teammates and scoring key points, and his presence somehow calmed the rest of our delegation. In the championship, he scored: 14, 17, 23, 18, 20, 21, 23 and 17 points; despite opposing coaches sending their best defensive players to guard him. In the elimination phase of the competition, he was joined by Aleksa Avramović, who played the best basketball of his life at the right time, so with his aggressiveness and stolen balls, he became a nightmare for the opponents and a hero for the Serbian fans. Svetislav Pešić, a trophy specialist with vast experience, fantastically led a team that was not considered a favorite on paper, but on the field it seemed like a harmonious unit ready to fight until the last drop of blood and sweat.
It was exactly like that in the grand final against Germany, in a terrible fight and a game that was decided by one ball, unfortunately, in favor of the very high-quality German national team (77:83). Nevertheless, Serbia exceeded expectations and achieved its greatest success since 2016 and silver at the Olympic Games in Rio. On the eve of the championship, the main goal was to qualify for the next Olympic Games, which was achieved by winning the semi-final against Canada. After several dry years, the Serbian national team consisting of: Bogdanović, Stefan and Nikola Jović, Avramović, Gudurić, Dobrić, Marinković, Davidovac, Petrushev, Simanić, Milutinov and Ristić, managed to win a silver medal and thus write new pages of the rich basketball tradition of this countries. And more importantly - she encouraged the kids to take the orange ball in their hands, go out onto the concrete field in the park behind the building and dream about becoming the new Bogdanović, the new Jokić or the new Avramović.
