Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets looks to pass during the first half against the Miami Heat in Game Three of the 2023 NBA Finals at Kaseya Center on June 07, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP
Serbian sports is poised for a double title success and the two men on the edge of glory have been swapping notes.
Novak Djokovic faces Norwegian Casper Ruud in the French Open final on Sunday with a chance of gaining a men’s record 23rd Grand Slam title.
A day later in Colorado, Nikola Jokic can win a first NBA championship for the Denver Nuggets, who lead the Miami Heat 3-1 in the best-of-seven finals.
After Friday’s 108-95 victory over the Heat in Miami, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic revealed that the 36-year-old Djokovic had been in touch.
“Yes, he texted me. For real,” Jokic said. “He didn’t lie. Yes, he’s amazing, of course, in his sport and he’s making history every time. Probably he’s going to go as one of the best ever, if not the best ever. He has a nice opportunity to win another one.
“He’s just an amazing sportsman and having him as a countryman that he represents us in the world, I think it’s a great honor, and I think the people of Serbia are really happy that we have him as our countryman.”
While there’s no doubt that Djokovic has long been the pride of Serbian sport, Jokic also enjoys a huge following in his homeland eight years after moving to Denver from Belgrade.
This year, television viewership of NBA games in Serbia is up 50% year-over-year and the NBA’s Instagram content that features Jokic generates 88% more engagement than the average post.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory over US Aleksandar Kovacevic during their men’s singles match on day two of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris on May 29, 2023. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)
Djokovic is certainly one of the many Serbs following the Nuggets star closely.
“I don’t think anyone can do what he’s doing at the moment. He’s definitely the best basketball player in the world, and I cheer for him greatly,” Djokovic told Fanduel recently.
“He’s an amazing guy, he’s the pride of Serbia and we’re so proud of him. We hope that he can win his first ring.”
Jokic has three chance to win that ring, starting with game five in Denver on Monday.
While most experts believe the Nuggets have the series in the bag, Jokic is wary of over-confidence.
“I mean, it’s still one win. We need to win one more,” he said. “I like that we didn’t relax (in game four). We didn’t get comfortable. We were still desperate. We still want it. That’s what makes me happy, that guys didn’t relax.”
The Nuggets are on the verge of their maiden NBA title and coach Michael Malone is determined that his players have the right mindset.
“I told our guys, the first thing I said, we’re not celebrating. It’s a good win. We’ve done our job. But we’re not celebrating like we’ve done anything yet,” Malone said.
“We know we’re going to have to go home and turn off the TV, the radio, don’t read the papers, don’t listen to everybody telling you how great you are because we haven’t done a damn thing yet.
“We have to win another game to be world champions and we’re going to do that by simply taking it one quarter at a time.
We stay true to our identity, we’ll give ourselves a great chance to do that.”