MIES (Switzerland) - It doesn't come as a newsflash for any viewers of the Netflix series Court of Gold that Nikola Jokic is maybe the greatest player in the game right now.
After all, the Serbian center has claimed three of the last four MVP awards in the NBA. He led the Denver Nuggets to their one and only title in 2023. And he carried Serbia to a bronze medal last summer in Paris. And his natinal team came very close to eliminating USA and their Avengers in the Semi-Final.
It makes for pleasant viewing for international basketball fans, though, to hear their star player showered with praise in episode 3, when the focus is on him and the national team.
The most striking comment comes from Ryen Russillo, an NBA analyst that appears several times in the series.
"Jokic, he is a conductor," Russillo says.
"He conducts every possession offensively in a way that I've never seen. Like, not Magic, not Nash, like this is genius-level s*** that we see from Jokic.
"And he does it all the while looking like the guy that would be the last pick at a park."
To Russillo's point, Jokic was in great shape at the Olympics yet did not boast a muscular, chiseled frame like LeBron James, for example.
Jokic is a one of a kind talent. Wherever he plays, he's the best guy on the floor
What the series drives home to viewers is that Jokic is ultra special. He understands the game and can absorb tactics while conversing during a practice with coach Svetislav Pesic. It shows how hugely important he is to Serbia's team, to Pesic and to basketball in general.
His teammates marvel at his ability.
"Jokic is a one of a kind talent," Serbia captain Bogdan Bogdanovic says of Jokic's impact in episode 5. "Wherever he plays, he's the best guy on the floor."
In those touch Olympic games, like in the come-from-behind win over Australia in the Quarter-Finals, Jokic never panicked.
"He was always calm, and in control, and he didn't lose the mind," Bogdanovic says.
The episode shows Jokic in overtime against Australia, burying a turnaround jump shot on the baseline over a very tall Boomer, Duop Reath.
"He gives everything," Bogdanovic says. "When it's time to score, he scores."
Jokic had 21 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks as Serbia came back from 24 points down to stun Australia. He literally saved his team.
"He's Nikola Jokic," Bogdanovic says, "and he's the best player in the world.
When Court of Gold builds up to the USA v Serbia Semi-Final, Nikola Milutinov talks about Jokic.
"Now, we are fighting for the medal," he says. "This is what we came here for. Especially against the USA, it's going to be tough. But when Jokic is with us on the court, everyone is feeling more safe."
Immediately after that comment, Jokic is seen playing the air guitar and goofing around with his teammates in the weight room.
It's his relaxed, funny personality that makes his everyone love him.
"Nikola is like one of us," Bogdanovic says. "Like, we don't see him like the world is seeing him. He's the guy who's not trying to be funny, but he is naturally funny."
At this point, Jokic is seen lying on his back singing in Serbian ♪ An elephant has caught a mouse... ♪ ♪ And now she is chasing it in circles ♪ and making his teammate Vanja Marinkovic laugh.
"He is such a good guy," Bogdanovic says. "He knows how team is important."
"He will not be like right away, 'Oh, I'm Nikola Jokic. I'm MVP. Give me the ball."
"That's what makes him even more respected here, which is most important.
The stats backed up how good Jokic was at the Olympics, where he won the bronze medal.
He was No. 1 in rebounds at 10.7 per game, No. 1 in assists at 8.7 per game, fifth overall in scoring at 18.4 points per game, joint No. 1 in steals at 2.0 per game, No. 1 in efficiency per game at 31.0, No. 1 in double-doubles with 4 and one of just two players with a triple-double. The other was LeBron.
One of the greatest coaches of all time, in terms of strategy, motivation and experience, Pesic holds Jokic in the highest regard.
"Nikola is a great player for any coach," he says.
"Great in every sense of the word. Sometimes it bothers me that he'll do his best to show not only to me, but to all players, that he's there for them. I'd like him to be selfish sometimes. To think more of himself, but Jokic is a team player."
FIBA