Nikola Jokic commits to Serbia for summer FIBA World Cup push

Nikola Jokic will suit up for Serbia in both FIBA windows this summer, according to Serbia head coach Dusan Alimpijevic — a major boost for a national team trying to punch their ticket to the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

Alimpijevic took over the program after Svetislav Pesic stepped aside in the wake of a disappointing EuroBasket 2025 run. Serbia fell to Finland in the Round of 16, with Jokic and Lauri Markkanen trading blows in a memorable duel. It was the team’s second straight loss at the tournament, following a stunning pool-play defeat to Turkey, led by Alperen Sengun. Pesic has since moved on to coach Bayern Munich.

Without Jokic, Serbia has gone 2-2 through the opening windows of World Cup qualifying. In July, the team will travel to Switzerland before hosting Bosnia and Herzegovina — the more important of the two matchups, with both sides currently sitting at 2-2.

Across 40 games with the Serbian senior national team dating back to 2016, Jokic has averaged 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. He’s represented his country in each of the last five summers. That comes after he caught significant criticism for skipping both qualifying and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He cited recovery that summer, even if his home country’s fans weren’t hearing it, coming off an MVP season.

Jokic has earned silver and bronze medals at the last two Olympics he’s played in — bronze in Rio in 2016 and silver in Paris in 2024 — and has been honored at both of his most recent international tournaments, making the All-Star Five at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the All-Star Second Team at EuroBasket 2025. All of this is building toward the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where basketball will be played on the Clippers’ home court, the Intuit Dome.

Thirty-two teams are competing across six windows in the European Qualifiers, with 12 spots up for grabs for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Doha, scheduled to tip in August 2027. The top three teams in each first-round group advance to the second round, where they’ll be joined by three teams from another group. Crucially, results carry over — meaning every game on the Road to Qatar 2027 counts.

In the second round, each team plays home-and-away against the three teams from the other group across three additional windows in August 2026, November 2026 and February 2027, with two games per team per window. The top three teams from each group at the end of those six games will book their tickets to Qatar. The fourth window, which Jokic committed to, is more critical. That one begins in late August 2026.

In the parallel group, Italy, Lithuania, Iceland and Great Britain are the contenders for the top three spots, with Italy off to a strong start. Meanwhile, Turkey has built a sizable advantage in Serbia’s current group. That makes the July matchup with Bosnia and Herzegovina massive — and the eventual second-round meetings with Italy, Lithuania or Iceland could ultimately determine Serbia’s fate. With Jokic back in the fold, the path to Doha got a lot easier.

But the Nuggets angle on this is just as fascinating as what it means for Serbia. Jokic’s decision likely means he didn’t undergo a cleanup surgery on his wrist, which has bugged him for nearly a decade. His knee will have gotten roughly nine weeks of rest before he takes the court again — not as much as it could get after he looked visibly lessened following a bone bruise in December, returning in late January to finish runner-up for MVP.

Denver fans are uneasy about him playing, wanting him to rest and fearing injury, and that crowd is louder than it has been in years past — perhaps because of the disappointing first-round exit to the Timberwolves. In the past, including during the Olympics, plenty of Nuggets fans were happy to root for Jokic against Team USA. The mood feels different now.

Compounding the intrigue: Jokic has not yet signed his supermax extension, which is expected this summer. He can ink that before he steps on the floor for Serbia. Though it is worth noting that in 2024, Denver held out on extending Jamal Murray until after the Olympics. This summer, the Nuggets are expected to be very active, all of which hinges on how good Jokic can be in 2026-27.

Jokic has played in the upper echelon of international basketball for an NBA star. LeBron James has played 49 games for Team USA since 2004. Kevin Durant has played 37 since 2010. Giannis Antetokounmpo has suited up 44 times for Greece going back to 2014. Rudy Gobert, drafted one class ahead of Jokic, has played 61 games for France since 2014.

On the other end of the spectrum, Joel Embiid — Jokic’s draft classmate — has played just five games for Team USA, all at the 2024 Olympics. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 15 games for Canada over the past few years, and Victor Wembanyama has played 10 for France since 2023. By any measure, Jokic’s 40 games of commitment to Serbia puts him firmly among the most invested international stars of his era — and he’s not done yet.

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