Has Serbia missed its last chance for gold in the Jokic era?

On Saturday September 6, the Serbian national team was eliminated by Finland in the EuroBasket round of 16 (86-92). While the premature tournament exit of captain and perimeter leader Bogdan Bogdanovic (1.96m, 33 years) and the loss to Turkey to conclude the group phase raised questions, the 2024 Olympic bronze medalists still seemed favorites to win the competition.

But once again, like in 2022 in Germany against Italy, they crashed out. It’s another failure after the 2019 World Cup (eliminated in quarter-finals by Argentina) and the 2023 World Cup final that seemed within reach, even though that Manila tournament was played without Nikola Jokic. From this golden generation, we may have to settle for bronze in Paris, after an epic semifinal against Team USA.

An aging generation, increased competition

Unable to contain Finland’s energy after letting them build momentum early in the game, catastrophic in defensive rebounding, Svetislav Pesic’s team (76 years old) played with fire before falling in Riga, Latvia. With no major international competition in 2026, we’ll have to wait until 2027 for the next international tournament with the World Cup in Qatar. However, the Serbian generation that was thought too experienced to fail will be declining. Bogdanovic will be 35, Vasilije Micic 33, Nikola Jokic, Nikola Milutinov, Marko Guduric, Ognjen Dobric and Aleksa Avramovic 32, and the younger generation doesn’t look as strong. While Nikola Jovic and Tristan Vukcevic (absent against Finland) are only 22 currently, will they be able to take on leadership roles if the veterans step aside? Filip Petrusev (25 today) still hasn’t made that leap, as shown by his catastrophic performance Saturday night at Riga Arena.

Meanwhile, competition grows with increasingly strong new generations. In 2027, Germany will still rely on Franz Wagner (26 in Qatar), Turkey on Alperen Sengun (23 today, 25 in 2027), France will present extraordinary potential while Spain will have begun its new cycle around young talents and Italy will have benefited from its return to elite player development. And that’s without mentioning all the emerging nations (Finland, Sweden, Georgia etc.) built around stars currently between 25 and 30 years old. Moreover, the next two campaigns (2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics) will be global competitions, with the United States, Canada and Australia, among others. The next European competition won’t be until 2029.

Are the young players at the same level?

However, it’s worth noting that the Serbian school continues to produce very good players and talent isn’t lacking in the Balkans. But youth national team results internationally aren’t as strong as in the past, despite a U18 European championship in 2023 (third in 2022, second in 2024 and fifth in 2025). We’re waiting to see what Nikola Topic will do with Oklahoma City in the NBA and potentially one day with Serbia.

With which head coach?

Finally, the question everyone in Serbia is asking: who will be the coach? Though still current, Svetislav Pesic (76) likely coached his last game on September 6 in Latvia. The country produces many coaches but few currently succeed at the highest international level. Without a coach with an impressive resume, will superstars continue coming to the national team? Maybe it’s time to consider Darko Rajakovic, the Serbian-American Toronto Raptors head coach since 2023?