On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Let's not gloss over what Nikola Jokic achieved at Paris Olympics
A Nikola Jokic masterclass Tuesday helped Serbia erase a 24-point deficit against Australia in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Paris Olympics men's basketball tournament.
With a 95-90 win, Serbia completed the biggest comeback in Olympic basketball history to set up a semifinal clash against Team USA on Thursday.
A historical 24-point comeback pic.twitter.com/qAI0paMHKM
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) August 6, 2024
While Jokic finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and four steals — a stat line never achieved in Olympic basketball — he didn't go into "MVP mode" until overtime. The Nuggets star had his imprint on every possession in the five-minute extra period, starting with a drive-and-kick assist to Ognjen Dobric for a three-pointer, followed by a key steal to initiate a fast break for Serbia.
With two minutes left, Jokic blocked a Josh Giddey shot that would have given Australia a three-point lead, and followed his defensive effort by stealing the ball from Patty Mills. In the final 90 seconds, Jokic made two clutch baskets — including a jump hook that would have made Kareem Abdul-Jabbar proud — to give Serbia a three-point lead. The sequence was enough for Serbia to hold on until the final buzzer.
Jokic finished the overtime period with four points, two steals, two rebounds, one assist and one block, stepping up in the clutch to keep his country in contention for Olympic gold. The three-time MVP previously led Serbia to a silver medal finish at Rio 2016 where he lost to Team USA in the final.
Of course, Jokic was a different player in 2016 to the one who will challenge LeBron James and Co. in Thursday's semifinal. Kevin Durant knows that better than anyone. Despite Team USA's 110-84 win over Serbia in the opening pool fixture, Durant is unwilling to take the Serbians lightly.
"At the end of the day, it's about who wants it more," Durant said previewing Serbia vs. Team USA.
The winner will face either France or Germany in Saturday's final.
If Jokic can guide his team to the upset of the century, he'd establish himself as not just the best player in the world, but arguably the preeminent player of his generation.
More must-reads:
- Men's basketball: Three takeaways from Serbia vs. Australia
- Teammate explains why Nikola Jokic is avoiding the media at Olympics
- The 'Multiple-time NBA MVP winners' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
Green Bay Packers: Luke Musgrave’s Wife’s Stunned Reaction to Jordan Love’s Wife’s Personal Post
The Green Bay Packers are about to kick off their 2025 NFL regular season, so it feels like a good time for some of the players to look back at some of the key moments and experiences they’ve had in the offseason. For quarterback Jordan Love and tight end Luke Musgrave, the 2025 NFL offseason will always be one that they’ll cherish — and not just because of anything that’s football-related. Love and Musgrave both got married to their respective longtime girlfriends in the offseason. The signal-caller tied the knot with Ronika Stone in June, while Musgrave and Madi Weisner exchanged vows in July. Ronika Stone’s wedding lookback gets Green Bay tight end’s wife’s reactions Mrs. Love recently shared a post on Instagram that shows a series of snapshots from her wedding with the Packers’ signal caller. “Every detail was SPECTACULAR ,” Ronika wrote as a caption for the post. She clearly is still awed by how her wedding looked that day, with several beautiful flower arrangements adorning the special day. Ronika’s post drew plenty of comments, including one from Mrs. Musgrave, who wrote “UNREAL.” It’s great to see Packers players’ wives showing support for each other just as Love and Musgrave do on the field. For Musgrave, he is looking to have a big rebound in 2025 after only appearing in seven games and coming up with 45 receiving yards with zero touchdowns and only a couple of first downs on seven receptions and 10 targets. The Packers, who will play the Seattle Seahawks at home this Saturday for both teams’ 2025 NFL preseason finale, will face the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field in Week 1 of the 2025 regular season.
Dallas Stars lock up one of the league's best players with massive extension today in hockey history
Pat McAfee has strong reaction to Hall of Fame honor
Bengals have major PR blunder over invite to former player for Ring of Honor ceremony
The Cincinnati Bengals do not have the best reputation when it comes to their willingness to spend money. They have been regarded as one of the cheapest teams in the league over how much they are willing to pay players, over their front office, coaching, scouting staff and for pretty much anything else that comes with running a professional sports franchise. Now, one of their all-time greatest players is putting them on blast for the way they invited him to the team's Ring of Honor ceremony in October. Former quarterback Boomer Esiason revealed on his radio show on Friday that his invite to the Oct. 26 ceremony wasn't exactly one that made him willing to jump up and rush back to Cincinnati. Instead of a personal invite, Esiason revealed that he received a form-letter email that he had to RSVP with for the ceremony, two tickets to the game with the opportunity to purchase more on his own and a group rate for a hotel that he would have to book himself, while also providing his own transportation. Here is the entire story from Esiason. On one hand, the common fan is not really going to understand his gripe here, and he might even come off as a little entitled. Maybe spoiled. Maybe even something of a jerk. But, is he wrong when you consider the context? The context being, he is a former professional athlete who is already in the Bengals' ring of honor and a player who made significant contributions to the franchise. He is one of the top quarterbacks -- and players -- to ever suit up for the team. Usually, teams go out of their way to roll out the red carpet for those players and bring them back for events like this. At least, that is probably the type of treatment players are accustomed to from multi-billion-dollar professional sports teams. Could Esiason afford his own plane ticket and hotel room? Could he buy his own tickets to the game? Absolutely. He was a starting quarterback in the NFL for over a decade and is one of the highest-profile radio hosts on the top sports talk channel in the country. He's probably doing fine financially. A trip to Cincinnati probably is not out of his budget. Still, it's the lack of effort from the Bengals that really stands out here, and it's not a great look for a franchise that doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to spending money. Yeah, Esiason can afford it. But so can the Bengals. And if they wanted him — and any other player — to show up, they could at least make it worth their while and a little easier for them. This story also caught the attention of former Bengals running back Corey Dillon, who delivered his own shot at the team on social media. Tough look all around for the Bengals to have former players — all-time great players for the franchise — calling them out.
'Off the table': Cowboys have strong stance on Micah Parsons as saga gets uglier
Following Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones‘ latest comments on the Micah Parsons situation, the All-Pro pass-rusher took the increasingly common step of scrubbing his X profile of Cowboys material. The Cowboys have been known to prolong negotiations, regardless of price hikes, and they are well down this road once again with another standout. Multiple teams have inquired about Parsons’ availability, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said during a "SportsCenter" appearance. Nothing is moving on that front, as Dallas continues to hold tight during its latest contract saga. That aligns with what we heard last week, with GMs indicating they have not gotten the sense Parsons is available following his trade request. Noting it would take a Herschel Walker-like offer for the Cowboys to move Parsons, so it's "off the table," and Fowler points to team optimism a deal can still be finalized before the season. It should also be noted Parsons’ camp is less optimistic. Jones attempting to go around high-powered agent David Mulugheta in negotiations has understandably irked Parsons, who employs an agent to negotiate his contract. The longtime Cowboys owner referencing a $200M guarantee also reflects what is likely a five- or six-year Dallas extension offer. With the cap soaring annually, players are increasingly opting against long-term deals. The Cowboys prefer them, but it is notable Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb convinced the team to budge here by each scoring four-year extensions. It would surprise if Parsons signed for beyond four years, but Jones continues to reference his negotiations with the player — talks Parsons classified as informal — this offseason. A Cowboys source mentioned the 49ers’ Nick Bosa situation re: Parsons. San Francisco did not have Bosa signed until four days before the 2023 regular season. Bosa played in Week 1 despite holding out until his extension was done. Parsons has spoken out about how not practicing during a negotiation can negatively impact a season, and he long preferred to have his deal done by training camp. The Cowboys are well past that artificial deadline, as these talks now remind of the Prescott and Lamb pace. Neither of those performers requested a trade, which is a notable difference between this Parsons back-and-forth and previous Cowboys extension struggles. While Fowler adds Mulugheta certainly didn’t tell Jones to stick the team’s offer “up their (expletive),” the Cowboys going to these lengths to avoid dealing with one of the game’s top agents has been an interesting chapter. Jones taking this route is not out of character. But Parsons taking issue with it to the degree he has would seem to require the team to change course and huddle up with Mulugheta — if the intent is to finalize a deal before Week 1. The Cowboys’ Thursday night assignment in Philadelphia to open the season also gives them less time than they had with Prescott last year. Mentioning the Packers, Cardinals and Ravens as potential trade fits, Fowler outlines what would certainly be a robust market if the Cowboys did decide to explore what the top player would fetch in a trade. Of course, dealing Parsons would significantly weaken the 2025 Cowboys. Jones mentioned during his Michael Irvin podcast conversation the prospect of franchise-tagging Parsons next year. That would be an option, but the Cowboys are not giving up on a 2025 deal yet.
Bill Belichick takes another shot at Patriots owner Robert Kraft
It is no secret that the relationship between Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft has been strained since Belichick left the New England Patriots. Belichick took an obvious shot at Kraft and the Patriots owner's son, Jonathan, who is the president of the team, during an interview with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that was published on Thursday. Belichick is preparing for his first-ever season as a college coach with North Carolina. When asked what he has noticed that is different about coaching in college versus the NFL, Belichick insinuated he has enjoyed not having to answer to any members of the Kraft family while doing his job in Chapel Hill. "It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it," Belichick told Volin. "It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way. "There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son. There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level." Shots fired. There is no way to interpret that other than a criticism of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. Had Belichick left it at not having to answer to a team owner, you could make the case that he was speaking generally about the NFL. The fact that he added in "owner's son" makes it obvious he was referring to his old bosses, as both Robert and Jonathan are hands-on with the Patriots. Belichick is almost certainly bitter over the way his tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season. He coached the Patriots for 24 seasons and won six Super Bowls, so he likely felt he should have been given more time to turn things around in the post-Tom Brady era. The Kraft family preferred to move on after a 4-13 campaign. Though Belichick insists he is solely focused on the upcoming UNC season, this is not the first time in recent months that he has gone out of his way to throw a jab at Robert Kraft.
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
