Teammate explains why Jokic is avoiding the media at Olympics

Serbia power forward Nikola Jokic. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Teammate explains why Nikola Jokic is avoiding the media at Olympics

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By R.P. Salao | Last updated Aug 6, 2024 9:02 PM ET

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has already been an elusive figure to the media throughout his NBA career. But he’s taken it to another level in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Jokic has outright refused to speak to the media so far throughout the summer games.

Reporters surely wanted to speak to the Joker on Tuesday after he carried Serbia to an improbable 95-90 overtime win over Australia in the men’s basketball quarterfinals at Bercy Arena.

The Serbs trailed by 24 points midway through the second quarter but battled back thanks in large part to Jokic’s heroics. After the game, Jokic again gave reporters the cold shoulder.

Serbian team captain Bogdan Bogdanovic spoke on Jokic’s behalf after the game. Bogdanovic wanted reporters to know that it wasn’t personal. Jokic just “doesn’t need to” make himself available to the media like he does in the NBA.

Serbia's Bogdan Bogdanovic on why teammate Nikola Jokic hasn't talked with the media at the Olympics: “He’s great, but he only likes to talk to me, you know that. In the NBA, if he doesn’t talk to media, he’ll get fined. But here (in the Olympics), there are no fines. So he says,…

— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) August 6, 2024

The overtime period was when Jokic really put Serbia on his back. The former NBA Finals MVP opened OT with an assist then made several key defensive plays to keep his team afloat.

Jokic then hit a critical go-ahead shot with 1:10 remaining to put Serbia up 91-90. He followed that up with a tough fadeaway jumper to extend the lead to three with under 30 seconds to play.

The man let his game — and then later his team captain — do the talking for him.

Had reporters been asking Jokic more questions about his passion for horse racing, perhaps he would open up to the media more.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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