DENVER (USA) - At the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021 in Riga, tournament MVP Chet Holmgren of USA and France's Victor Wembanyama grabbed most of the headlines.
Holmgren is now an NBA champion with the Oklahoma City Thunder while Wembanyama is the face of the San Antonio Spurs and France's national team.
But don't forget there was another rising star that caused a stir at the event.
Serbia's Nikola Jovic was also in the U19 All-Star Five in Latvia.
Fast forward to 2025 and Jovic, 22, is already a key man in Serbia's senior national team.
He was Player of the game of Serbia's first win at EuroBasket 2025, over Estonia, when he showed off his perimeter shooting skills, his fast-break talent and his passing ability.
He’s in his fourth season with the Miami Heat and showing signs that he could be Serbia’s next great player, supporting - and perhaps one day taking over the reins from - Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver likes what he sees in his countryman.
We use him in the national team as a post-up player. And it was working good for us
"I think he has potential because I think he’s a good defender, he can defend multiple positions just because of his size," said Jokic.
"And offensively, you can use him on different ball handling (situations), he can shoot the 3.
"He can actually be a good post-up player. That’s my opinion, of course. Because we use him in the national team as a post-up player. That’s why I'm saying it. And it was working good for us just because of his size."
Jovic was Serbia's second leading scorer at the EuroBasket. He averaged 12.8 points per game, pouring in points both inside the arc and beyond it.
New Serbia coach Dusan Alimpijevic will be keen to see how Miami coach Erik Spoelstra utilizes the 2.08m (6ft 10in) Jovic.
After he missed a substantial part of his second year with back problems and also last season with a broken hand, Jovic is averaging 8.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 21 minutes eight games into the 2025-26 campaign.
FIBA