When Team USA plays against Serbia on Thursday, August 8, in the Olympics semifinals, it will be a chance for some of the NBA stars who have been Jokić’s biggest rivals to one-up the three-time MVP and Nuggets star — by using their combined skills.
The game also poses an interesting question for Denver Nuggets fans: Do they root for their hometown hero in Jokić, or put country over everything and side with Team USA?
If they’re interested in victory, fans may side with the United States. Team USA is a double-digit favorite in sportsbooks and hasn't lost a game yet in the Olympics. Serbia’s only loss came in the group stage against the U.S., going down 110 to 84. Serbia lost by a similar amount earlier this summer, when the two teams played an exhibition game.
But some people love an underdog or think rooting for the Monstars from Space Jam is boring. To get a feel for where Nuggets fans stand, Westword called in the help of r/denvernuggets on Reddit, where user IdRatherBeLurkingToo posted a poll asking Americans in the subreddit whom they plan to root for.
After a day of collecting votes, only about 25 percent of the nearly 200 responding Denver Nuggets fans say they’re rooting for Team USA. The other three-quarters are in for Serbia. Many fans shared their reasoning in the comments, with the general sentiment being that the Nugs are more important to Denver fans than Team USA.
“This is Nuggets Land!” wrote user virus5877. “Team USA is secondary.”
Others felt uncomfortable rooting for a superteam.
“It’s just so hard to root for this USA team,” said skesisfunk. “It's like rooting for the villain team in any sports movie.”
But some people pointed out that, although they might love Jokić, they aren’t Serbian.
“I’ve never even been to Serbia,” said user gd2121. “Serbia ain’t got nothing to do with Denver.”
For IdRatherBeLurkingToo, pride for Denver outweighs his general pride for the country, so he’s in on Serbia, predicting a narrow Serbian win.
“Miracles can happen, right?” the lurker wrote. “And if anyone could do it, Big Honey can. Serbia by 1.”
Americans: Who are you rooting for in tomorrow's semifinal game?That optimism definitely wasn’t shared across the subreddit.
byu/IdRatherBeLurkingToo indenvernuggets
“[The] US will win a close game, but non-Jokić minutes and free throw disparity will be Serbia's downfall (sound familiar?),” wrote user aatencio91, referencing a common Nuggets woe where the bench gives up leads while Jokić gets his rest.
The big man hasn’t rested much in this Olympic run, sitting for just a few minutes each game. However, FIBA quarters are only ten minutes compared to the twelve-minute quarters in the NBA.
Just like in the NBA season, Jokić has led the way for his team, averaging 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game in the Olympics so far. His only teammate whom casual American fans will likely recognize is Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks, who is averaging 18.5 points per game for Serbia this Olympics.
User Yeti_CO cited the disparity in rosters as the reason they think the United States will dominate the game.
“Jokić is Jokić but Serbia can't match our roster,” Yeti wrote. “Serbia is butt after their top two.”
Other users agreed, saying their hope is more that Serbia won’t get blown out rather than it will emerge victorious. Lots of fans are just hoping for a good game.
“USA all day but if it’s anyone who I want to beat us it’s Serbia,” said user BoneyardBill. “Yes, Jokić is my favorite player and I even have Jokić license plates. I’m going with 107-96. My prediction is the rest of Serbia doesn’t show up like Jokić.”
Others agreed, saying they were open to either team winning if it’s a fun time. User markpondrice asked if there was an option to root only for Jokić and against Emiid, a fellow center who has been Jokić’s biggest on-court rival in the NBA for the last several years. Before getting injured this season, Embiid looked like he might win MVP again in 2024, but Jokić ended up winning it for the third time.
Despite Jokić's three MVP trophies in the NBA, Denver fans still don't trust the national media to treat him fairly. Some Nuggets fans on Reddit pointed out that the perceived disrespect of Jokić and Denver by national media would make a Serbian upset even sweeter.
“Go home country, but... if Joker can topple all the American heavyweights he might, might get some goddam respect finally,” said user Clown45.
And despite the narrow odds, plenty of fans said they predict Serbia will eke out a victory if it “catches fire and has one of those perfect games needed to take down the U.S.,” as user Orod23 put it.
Westword also asked where people would be watching from. Since the game is at 1 p.m. Mountain Time, during the workday for most people, many fans said they would be tuning in at work. However, user HeadHoncho204 plans to watch the second half during lunch, forecasting a 3-point Serbia win.
“I might get sick if my prediction comes true,” the user wrote.
Others in the comments, like Yeti_CO, pointed out that Coloradans have a homegrown star on Team USA to root for in Derrick White, who was a last-minute addition to the roster and grew up in Colorado Springs before being drafted into the NBA out of the University of Colorado Boulder.
Plus, Yeti_CO pointed out that Jokić himself definitely places country over Denver.
“He has the first flight booked back to Serbia after the season ends,” the user said. “That's not a knock BTW. But it's clear he commutes to Denver and Serbia is home.”
Still, it seems most Denver fans aren’t conflicted at all: Their loyalties lie with their star, and they’ll be joining the Serbians in rooting against Team USA when the game tips off.
“As a Serb I am shocked that so many [of] you guys are rooting for Serbia, but nice to hear that,” wrote North_Tadpole2201. “Whole Serbia is cheering for Denver and watches Nuggets games at like 4:00 a.m. and go to work super tired lol.”
Whichever team wins the matchup will go on to vie for gold while the other team will play for bronze.
