NBA Legend Criticizes Team USA for Close Game Against Nikola Jokic and Serbia
![Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; Serbia center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts against Germany in the men's basketball bronze medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; Serbia center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts against Germany in the men's basketball bronze medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_7704,h_4333,x_0,y_298/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_nuggets/01j59rc94vk24r9a5a0n.jpg)
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic led Serbia to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Falling to Team USA in the semifinals game, Serbia led for most of the matchup but could not maintain their lead in the fourth quarter.
While much of the focus from that game has been on Serbia's inability to hold their lead, NBA legend Charles Barkley believes the game should not have even been close.
Appearing on the Dan Le Batard show, Barkley criticized Team USA and explained how Jokic was able to keep this game close despite being at a significant talent disadvantage.
"I think they played too slow because you could see what [Jokic] was doing," Barkley said. "He was milking the clock, he would take the ball out of bounds and roll it up the court. They turned a 40 minute game basically into like a 35 to 37 minute game. So they let them play slow. I think they should have played a lot faster."
Jokic made history at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first player ever to lead the tournament in total points, rebounds, and assists.
One of one đ pic.twitter.com/S8zqTdoStD
â Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) August 12, 2024
Before his assessment on the USA-Serbia game, Barkley made another eye-opening statement, saying Team USA would not even have room for Serbia's second best player.
"They got Joker, but the second-best player on their team was Bogdanovic," Barkley said. "Does Bogdanovic make the United States Olympic team? Under no circumstances does he make the Olympic team."
While Bogdanovic is a great player, Barkley is correct here, which makes Jokic's performance at the Olympics even more impressive.
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