Kendrick Perkins: Nikola Jokic 'scares' Team USA ahead of Olympic semifinal

Nobody is picking Serbia to upset mighty Team USA in Thursday's Olympic semifinal, but Kendrick Perkins feels the Steve Kerr-led team has reason to be wary of Nikola Jokic.

Perkins commented after the Nuggets star produced a masterclass Tuesday, helping Serbia overcome a 24-point deficit against Australia in the quarterfinal. 

Speaking on ESPN's "NBA Today," the former Celtic lavished praise on Jokic for carrying his country to the semifinals with only one other NBA player — Bogdan Bogdanovic — in Serbia's starting unit.  

"He proved that he's still the best player in the world," Perkins said of Jokic's performance on Tuesday. "I know KD and Bron have been doing their thing [for Team USA], but at the end of the day, Jokic is still the best basketball player. He's doing more with less. It's not a knock on his teammates, but those guys are not stacked like Team USA." "He is so dangerous that if there's one individual who can rally a team and do it singlehandedly in all phases, Jokic is that guy. He's done it multiple years in the NBA, and he's doing it right now in the Olympics... Jokic scares everyone, including the guys representing our country." 

To Perkins' point, Jokic — more than anyone else in the NBA — knows what it takes to win it all without a stacked roster. Last year, he became the first player since Dirk Nowitzki in 2011 to win an NBA title without an All-Star or All-NBA teammate. Furthermore, Jokic is the only MVP since 1984 to capture the award without an All-Star, All-NBA or All-Defense teammate through his first nine seasons. 

Entering Thursday's tie, Jokic benefits from the familiarity of playing against Team USA's stars for years in the NBA. There isn't a matchup or defensive coverage he hasn't encountered, be it facing Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis or Bam Adebayo one-on-one or overcoming traps in half-court sets. 

Those NBA experiences could prove vital when he steps on the court Thursday. 

When Serbia faced Team USA in the Paris Games opener, Jokic sat out nearly 10 minutes (out of the FIBA 40), during which his country was outscored 29-3. The score was 81-81 with him on the court. Don't expect the big man to sit more than a few minutes on Thursday, especially after he played 39 minutes in the quarters against Australia. 

Just for the sake of competitive basketball, here's hoping Jokic pushes Team USA to its limit.