Croat's Article on Jokić Still Draws Laughter: Written After Serbia Loss, He Surely Regrets It Now

The Denver Nuggets clinched their first championship in 2023, largely thanks to the Serbian sensation, Nikola Jokić. This season, they're once again vying for the title, and it's clear the Sombor native remains their pivotal player.

"Jutarnji list" certainly didn't foresee this nearly a decade ago, as the author of the following article believed Dario Šarić to be superior to Jokić.

We were seated in armchairs, right by the court lines, next to the living room, the place where he feels most at home. It was early spring, 2013. At that time, he was learning the beautiful game of basketball, absorbing everything around him for the past five years. We had all known about him for a long time. He was the new hope, the man destined to elevate Croatian basketball.

Dario Šarić was aware of everything from day one. He spoke like Sandra Perković, a lot, but always, at the end of everything he said, you could tell that you were in front of a child who was completely different from all the clichés. I don't remember what he said in that big interview, but I vividly recall one answer.

- When I go to the NBA, I will have a great responsibility to everyone who wakes up during the night to watch me. To my family, friends, and fans.

When Janica Kostelić was winning series after series, she always emphasized what Dario Šarić spoke about: responsibility. First to himself, and then to all the fans. Responsibility for the talent he possesses and responsibility for what he does with that talent. This is the law of interconnected vessels. It's so difficult to grasp, yet, at the same time, when it comes down to it, so logical to understand.

When we lost to Serbia in the Olympic quarterfinals, in a game where he played poorly, he faced the journalists in Rio and honestly admitted it. He was more venomous than any fan watching, more than any cynical journalist. He's not the type, never has been, to seek alibis.

- I played like sh*t...

Later, in the dead of night, after a defeat that stung more than others, we left the Carioca Arena at the same time. All it took was a look into his eyes. And everything would be clear; you didn't even need to watch the game, you didn't even need to know how he played, but his eyes were there. Eyes that screamed. From pain, from misery, from shame, from everything you could imagine. And I was certain that Dario Šarić would return. It was a defeat that hinted at ultimate victory.

I later learned that before that game, he had been scrolling through social media and reading forums. It was, on one hand, a coming-of-age, a lesson he had to learn so it wouldn't happen again, because he's not a man who doesn't learn.

More than anything, Dario Šarić is a man who has had enough. Once too often.

I remember how the experienced Branko Jorović from Igokea mocked him on the court during his first year at Cibona. And I remember how it looked when they faced each other again. I also remember how difficult it was to watch him at Efes, setting screens and fighting for points at the rim. Without status, with his wings clipped for any creativity. In a system where, presumably, he was supposed to be just one of the others. An employee. And where his body language screamed just like his eyes after the Olympic quarterfinals. Screamed and demanded change.

That's the mindset of a winner. He demanded more even at Efes, among that group of overpaid stars on their last contract before retirement. Once, in Russia, they were down by twenty, and Šarić was the only one, the only person on the court, in the arena, among all those watching, who believed they could turn it around.

And that cannot be learned, it cannot be bought; you have to be born with it.

In that Rio quarterfinal, Dario Šarić played against Nikola Jokić. And it didn't look good. Jokić is a year younger, but even though they share the same agent, he had different plans for Jokić. No Europe, straight to the NBA.

And after starting his second NBA season in Denver at power forward, where he performed worse than in his rookie year, Jokić was promoted to the starting five and now routinely embarrasses every center night after night, who fails to guard him because he's quicker and more creative. Jokić scored 40 points in Madison on Friday night.

He's still defended by centers or slower power forwards, and I'd pay to watch another clash with Šarić. He can play center, he can play power forward. He always can. Always, especially after Rio.

Every subsequent game, Jokić will play against a man whose heart is bigger than anything, a man who might stumble once, but then learns everything. And then corrects everything. A man who will find a way. Even when no one else sees it.

You might think I'm crazy, but I believe Dario Šarić is better than Nikola Jokić. Even though he didn't score 40 in Madison. And not because he's 'one of ours.'

He's the complete package. Always has been. An infectious heart. And a man for whom it's not difficult to wake up in the middle of the night because he has responsibility. And for every hour less of our sleep.

While Dario Šarić is a fantastic basketball player, it's an understatement to say this bold prediction fell flat a decade later. In fact, Dario couldn't even establish himself as a backup option for Jokić in Denver; that role now belongs to Jonas Valančiūnas. It's a great shame that Dario didn't reach his full potential, as he is a brilliant player. He still has the opportunity to regain his former glory in the EuroLeague; there's been talk for a long time about him joining a club in the Old Continent.

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