When the Olympics come to Los Angeles in 2028, the USA taking home a gold medal in men’s basketball is far from a sure thing — the world is catching up fast with the five-time reigning gold medal winners.
The two biggest threats to take that gold away from the USA are France, led by Victor Wembanyama, and Serbia, led by Nikola Jokic. Those two countries met Thursday in a friendly prep game for upcoming World Cup qualifying, and Jokic put on a show with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to lead Serbia to the 90-87 win.
Nikola Jokić leads Serbia to the win against France in the first of two FIBA World Cup International Friendly matchups!
— NBA (@NBA) August 20, 2026
🇷🇸 20 PTS
🇷🇸 9 REB
🇷🇸 8 AST
(via @FIBAWC)pic.twitter.com/c2jOFLuDAw
Wembanyama had a tougher time, scoring 10 points, shooting 1-of-6 from 3-point range, but he had his moments as well.
Call it WEMBY-MILL! 👽
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 20, 2026
📺 Watch LIVE: https://t.co/Hbj80LKqoi#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/ZImBFAoTLc
After the game, Jokic had the highest of praise for Wembanyama.
“He is a special opponent because he is unique as a player and as a person. I don’t see him as a rival, and I don’t take this personally,” Jokic said to the media, via Eurohoops.net. “He has the opportunity to be the most unique basketball player we’ve ever seen – to be the best ever.”
