Thunder Guard Vasilije Micic to Sit Out World Cup, Focus on Transition to NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder’s new guard is skipping the World Cup in anticipation of his debut season in the NBA.

According to MozzartSport, a popular South-Eastern European sports magazine, Vasijile Micic is opting not to represent his home country of Serbia in the upcoming FIBA World Cup. Per the report, he will instead focus on his transition to the NBA.

Micic began representing Serbia in 2011, where he helped his teams win silver medals in back-to-back years at the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the FIBA Europe Under-19 Championship. He's also represented Serbia’s senior national team well throughout his career, playing in EuroBasket 2013, Eurobasket 2017, and at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Over the years, the former MVP of the EuroLeague has been trying to make his way to the biggest stage in basketball: the NBA. Finally, after agreeing to a three-year contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier last week, Micic will get his shot to compete amongst the best.

While the EuroLeague is often regarded as the best professional basketball league outside the NBA, there is still a massive gap in size, athleticism, and talent. And at 29 years old, Micic will have to compete against younger, faster, and more skilled players than what he’s accustom to on a nightly basis.

Minutes in the NBA will not come easy for Micic either. With the start of training camp just a few weeks away, Micic will have to prove himself to head coach Mark Daigneault while competing for precious playing time amongst a talented group of guards on the Thunder’s roster.

Perhaps that’s why he’s taking the summer off.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.