adidas Eurocamp Prospect Profile: Nikola Djurisic

Evaluating adidas Eurocamp athlete Nikola Djurisic and how he performed in June’s event.

Earlier this week, adidas Eurocamp took place, as many future NBA talents took the floor in Treviso, Italy. Perhaps the most impressive of the group was Serbia’s Nikola Djurisic, who has a real shot at being selected in the 2024 NBA Draft later this month. 

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Background

As jumbo guards continue having success in the NBA, players like Djurisic are attractive to teams around the league. An intriguing prospect out of Serbia, he has been given the opportunity to play against adults professionally for several seasons now. 

Djurisic also possesses the pedigree of a high-level athlete, as both of his parents played professional sports at one point. Whether it’s in FIBA competition or in the ABA with Mega Basket, he has proven to be one of the best international prospects in the world for several years now. 

That would only continue to be true in Treviso this week at adidas Eurocamp. 

Eurocamp Performance

As expected, Djurisic was one of the best players at Eurocamp and walked away as MVP of the event. The 20-year-old looked the part of a future NBA player, which isn’t surprising given he’s a projected second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft — assuming he doesn’t withdraw yet again. The 6-foot-7 guard has been good enough to make his way to the NBA for several seasons now, but has returned back to Serbia to continue playing and developing his skills as he waits for the right moment to make the jump. 

While Djurisic was able to score with ease — especially during his first two games in Italy — the passing is what really stuck out most during the camp. He was a fantastic facilitator and generated easy buckets for his teammates. Some of the windows he was able to squeeze the ball into on his passes were wildly impressive, which is the primary intrigue in a player of his size. There are still some questions about the defensive side of the ball and his mentality on the court, but Djurisic is without a doubt talented enough to make an impact at the NBA level. 

Looking Ahead

Djurisic spent time with Draft Digest on Saturday morning, giving insight into what he’s been working on over the past year and what’s next for him. Most notably, he wouldn’t commit to whether or not he would be remaining in the 2024 NBA Draft ahead of the June 16 deadline to withdraw. It’s worth noting that Djurisic had a phenomenal showing at the combine last month, which seemed to really help his draft stock. 

When thinking back to his game this time last year — before withdrawing from the 2023 NBA Draft — Djurisic mentioned one of the things he feels he’s improved most on is his ability to play off the ball. 

“My whole career I’ve played on the ball. So they [NBA teams] want to see if I can play off the ball,” Djurisic told Draft Digest. “Because I know when I come to the NBA, I'm not going to have the ball in my hands. I'm going to do all the dirty work, you know, like play of the catch. So I think like I showed the people in the NBA that I can play both.”

From there, another significant area of improvement is his overall body language and mentality on the court, even as it relates to not trying to do too much. Historically, Djurisic has been known for getting down on himself and struggling to stay grounded in the flow of the game, but he feels that is behind him now. 

“I'm more focused. I know what I can do and where I can do better,” Djurisic explained. “So the things I cannot do, I'm not doing them now. I’ve matured a lot. Last year, my body language was horrible. So I'm determined to change that.”

As the lone player in attendance at adidas Eurocamp with the expectation to get drafted later this month, Nikola Djurisic looked very good overall, despite some struggles in Monday’s championship game.