Jokic Powers Serbia to Olympic Bronze With Triple-Double

Nikola Jokić delivered a commanding triple-double to steer Serbia to an 93-83 Olympic bronze medal victory over Germany at Bercy Arena, securing the nation’s first Olympic medal since the Rio 2016 silver.

The 29-year-old centre scored or assisted on four of Serbia’s first five baskets, ensuring his team never trailed. He controlled the tempo from the opening possession, carving open the German defence with passes that set the tone for an afternoon played entirely on Serbian terms.

A lead built and fiercely protected

Serbia stretched the margin to 19 points during the third quarter. Germany, the reigning World Cup champion, refused to fold and a Franz Wagner layup late in the fourth cut the gap to 82-74. Serbia answered with an 11-4 run, pushing the lead back above double digits and extinguishing the final threat.

A clean sheet of historic weight

Jokić finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists without a single turnover across 38 minutes. It was only the fifth triple-double in Olympic men’s basketball history, placing him alongside LeBron James and Luka Dončić on a list that had stood nearly half a century before recent tournaments expanded it.

The performance rounded out a tournament in which Jokić averaged 18.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. Serbia’s only defeats came against the United States, and they joined the Americans and host France as the only nations with multiple medals across the last three Olympic cycles.

Jokić maintained his custom of silence with reporters afterwards, leaving captain Bogdan Bogdanović to speak for the squad. “It’s a huge success, we won the bronze medal at the Olympics,” Bogdanović told reporters. “Of course there is some sadness about that game against the USA but we cannot go backwards.”

A rematch of the 2023 World Cup final lost, won with calm authority six days after the heartbreak of a semifinal lead squandered — the bronze marked a second Olympic podium for the quiet engine of Serbian basketball.