Bogdanovic voted Serbian Player of the Year after World Cup heroics
BELGRADE (Serbia) - The importance and respect that Serbians have for their national team has been put on full display once again with Bogdan Bogdanovic being voted as the country's Player of the Year.
Bogdanovic led Serbia to the FIBA Basketball World Cup Final in Manila, averaging 19.1 points per game while shooting 52.6 percent overall from the floor and 42.3 percent (22 of 52) from three-point range.
The Serbian Basketball Federation polled 40 journalists with 27 voting for Bogdanovic, while Nikola Jokic, who led the Denver Nuggets to their first NBA title but did not play at the World Cup, received 10 votes. Jokic was the MVP of the NBA Finals after averaging 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.
Another inspirational figure from Serbia's national team. Aleksa Avramovic, got two votes. The 1.92m (6'4") guard had his best game of the tournament in the World Cup Final against Germany with 21 points, a clash the Germans won, 83-77.
🗣️@FIBA interview - Bogdan Bogdanovic 🇷🇸: "Aleksa Avramovic was watching SGA's tape for the last two days... Highlights, every game... He said: "Trust me, I'm going to steal one ball from him." And I think he stole two. So, props to him. Props to all the guys. Unbelievable win." pic.twitter.com/kGjRZqOIuJ
— Chloé Westelynck (@ChloeWest_13) September 8, 2023
A relatively anonymous player before he started earning selections to the national team during the European Qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup, Avramovic has turned into one of his country's most important players.
He averaged 11.3 points and 1.6 steals per game in Manila, second only to Bogdanovic's 2.1 steals per game. Avramovic had four steals in the Quarter-Final triumph over Lithuania.
FIBA
