NBA – Eliminated in the first round by the Celtics, Bogdan Bogdanovic closely followed the first Finals of his great friend, Nikola Jokic.
Present at Game 4 in Miami, alongside the Jokic brothers, Bogdan Bogdanovic took advantage of his vacation to support his childhood friend, Nikola Jokic. Who has since become NBA champion and Finals MVP.
Like Boris Diaw who had followed the finals of his friend Tony Parker, before joining him in San Antonio (to win a title there in 2014), the relationship between the two Serbian internationals goes back a long time. When the two nuggets were still in training in the country.
“I have known him since childhood, since his debut in fact”, explains Bogdan Bogdanovic in The Hoop Collective. “I met him at one of our mutual friends. We were playing on the Playstation. He arrived but he was very shy. We could not imagine that this guy was going to be NBA champion a few years later! »
A recognized prospect since adolescence, Bogdan Bogdanovic was much more highly rated than Nikola Jokic in their respective pro debuts, one at Partizan (at 18), the other at Mega Basket (at 17).
“At the beginning, he was a big guy who knew how to pass. And then, we saw that he also had a decent shot and a good touch. It started like that. But now he controls the game, while being so quiet, he leads his team by example. He really shows how to play. His brain is running at full speed. Every second, every movement is reflected, he is completely invested in his minutes. He also blazed a new trail when he came to the NBA from a small club in Europe. He proved that we could succeed without having to win trophies in Europe, which is not easy at the beginning [for European players]. And, in the end, he did something that few people could imagine. Neither does he! »
Landed in Colorado on tiptoe, so much so that he himself had offered to come off the bench when he teamed up with Jusuf Nurkic under the panels of the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic however took the top on the current holder of the Blazers.
Like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Michael Malone had felt the full potential of the Serbian giant in the hands of a lacemaker.
“I understood that he could really become an NBA superstar when I played him in the NBA for the first time. Before that, he didn’t think about it himself because he didn’t even follow what was going on there, or even the Euroleague. He was just doing his job [at Mega]. Now he has a completely different status. Everyone is waiting for their reactions after the game in Serbia. We already knew that he always released funny stuff after games but now everyone knows it! […] But it is a bit like the reputation of his region of origin, Sombor, in the north of the country. People there are said to be a bit slow and take it easy and like to have a good laugh. »
A faithful friend of Nikola Jokic since their childhood, Bogdan Bogdanovic has necessarily rubbed shoulders with his brothers, Strahinja and Nemanja (with whom he is also closer). The Hawks sniper attests that the two lads, who are fearless and do not hesitate to do Serbian-style “trashtalking” in the bays of all NBA halls, are first and foremost good brothers. Who know (have learned) not to exceed certain limits.
“They are really thorough, they encourage everyone, with each basket of the team. They are real supporters for Nikola, the very definition of a brother. They protect him a lot, sometimes too much, but it’s always for his good. I most often chat with Nemanja, the middle brother. Their support is important because it comes from the family. I know it’s difficult to know how to stay in your place when you’re the player’s family, especially over the length. I know this because my sister does the same for me. But they do it pretty well. And, frankly, all the families [of Denver players] were behind them, in good spirit, it was beautiful to see. »
