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

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

But once again, like in 2022 in Germany against Italy, they crashed out. This is another failure after the 2019 World Cup (eliminated in quarterfinals 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 Finnish energy after letting them build early momentum, catastrophic in defensive rebounding, Svetislav Pesic’s team (76) played with fire before falling in Riga, Latvia. With no major international competition in 2026, the next tournament will be the 2027 World Cup in Qatar. However, the Serbian generation, thought too experienced to falter, will be declining. Bogdanovic will be 35, Vasilije Micic 33, Nikola Jokic, Nikola Milutinov, Marko Guduric, Ognjen Dobric and Aleksa Avramovic 32, and the young generation doesn’t look as strong. While Nikola Jovic and Tristan Vukcevic (absent against Finland) are only 22 currently, can they take leadership roles if veterans step aside? Filip Petrusev (25 today) still hasn’t made that leap, as shown by his disastrous outing Saturday 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 show extraordinary potential while Spain will have started its new cycle around young talents and Italy will have benefited from its return to elite player development. Not to mention all emerging nations (Finland, Sweden, Georgia etc.) built around stars currently aged 25-30. Moreover, the next two campaigns (2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics) will be global, facing the USA, 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 producing very good players and talent remains abundant in the Balkans. But youth national team results aren’t as strong as in the past, despite a U18 European title in 2023 (third in 2022, second in 2024 and fifth in 2025). We’ll see how Nikola Topic performs with Oklahoma City in the NBA and possibly one day with Serbia.

With which 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 this September 6 in Latvia. The country produces many coaches but few currently reach 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, American-Serbian Toronto Raptors coach since 2023?