Future of Serbian NT

[Serbian_Layup]

If Jokic had earned the minutes, he would have played 30+. You have just proved how special he is.

Nope, you are jumping to conclusions without knowing the context. And the context is that it's the Serbian national team. There is hierarchy and if you are a rookie like Jokic was in 2016, you are not getting more minutes over proved veterans even if you are already better than them. First you need to earn respect from them no matter how good you are. That's why we are who we are

And there is no doubt that Wemby is a special talent.

[Toruko]

Jokic was 21 in 2016. You can't compare their roles. Wembanyiama was immediately given 30 mpg, while Djordjevic used Jokic off the bench as one of rotational players. Jokic dropped easy 25 on USA in limited role in 2016. Give him 30 mpg like Wemby had at Olympics and then you can compare them.

If Jokic had earned the minutes, he would have played 30+. You have just proved how special he is.

[Serbian_Layup]

Wemby at 20 is better than Jokic was at 22 in 2016 olympics better than anybody i can remember at 20. His ridiculous fast improvements is scary.


That kid is more than special even know at 20 when he is dummy player.God save his opponnets when he will get some experience and smarter desicion to his game


Only injuries can stop him from become top 10 worlds players very soon. After Olympic final no if or buts about his tallent remains to me only health questions.

Thats not nornal for 20 kid looking so good playing vs Lebrons,Durant,Embiids,Davis of the world in must win game for americans

Jokic was 21 in 2016. You can't compare their roles. Wembanyiama was immediately given 30 mpg, while Djordjevic used Jokic off the bench as one of rotational players. Jokic dropped easy 25 on USA in limited role in 2016. Give him 30 mpg like Wemby had at Olympics and then you can compare them.

Wemby is a generational talent, but he has some glaring weaknesses which are not going to be easily solved considering his built.

Wemby right now is all about flashes. He is showing flashes of greatness but an actual impact is not yet there, which is understandable considering his age. My point is that he might not be anything more than highlight reel machine with empty stats, because the stuff he has to improve are not easy to achieve given his size and built.

If these Olympics were held outside of Paris, France would have been out in the group stage losing to Japan. Sure, Wemby is already impactful, but the hype around him is making him look better than he actually is, which won't help him at all.

[Shawshank]

Wemby at 20 is better than Jokic was at 22 in 2016 olympics better than anybody i can remember at 20. His ridiculous fast improvements is scary.


That kid is more than special even know at 20 when he is dummy player.God save his opponnets when he will get some experience and smarter desicion to his game


Only injuries can stop him from become top 10 worlds players very soon. After Olympic final no if or buts about his tallent remains to me only health questions.

Thats not nornal for 20 kid looking so good playing vs Lebrons,Durant,Embiids,Davis of the world in must win game for americans

[Serbian_Layup]

He is not bad in the post. He still has the reach to make shots tough but yeah he is thin but this is a natural thing. Nobody expects him to be DPOY right now. He will need one or two more seasons but he has enough impact to call him one of the best defenders in the league.

He has the potential to be one of the best defenders. For that to happen he will have to toughen up quite a bit. NBA regular season is nothing compared to NBA playoffs. Wemby has to go through a process that is going to be delicate and uncertin when it comes to his full development. If he makes it, he will be special player, if he doesn't, he will be highlight sensation without real impact.

[Toruko]

Bad defender in the post. Easy to push around. And he is the center. You will see how that goes in the playoffs. And bottom line is playoff is only what matters in NBA. That alone excludes him from the conversation of being the best defender in the league, let alone of all time. But narratives create awards big time, so he will probably get that for being well coordinated and mobile for his height. A center that gets pushed around so easily is not DPOY in my book. Check stats from last season and see how many points top 10 NBA centers scored against him last season.

He is not bad in the post. He still has the reach to make shots tough but yeah he is thin but this is a natural thing. Nobody expects him to be DPOY right now. He will need one or two more seasons but he has enough impact to call him one of the best defenders in the league.

[Serbian_Layup]

Wembanyama has a long way to go on the offensive end, thats true but he is even rn one of the best defenders in the NBA and he will most probably be the best defender of all time (if he can stay healthy). Everything else I totally agree.

Bad defender in the post. Easy to push around. And he is the center. You will see how that goes in the playoffs. And bottom line is playoff is only what matters in NBA. That alone excludes him from the conversation of being the best defender in the league, let alone of all time. But narratives create awards big time, so he will probably get that for being well coordinated and mobile for his height. A center that gets pushed around so easily is not DPOY in my book. Check stats from last season and see how many points top 10 NBA centers scored against him last season.

[Toruko]

France has zero on ball creation. Traore might change that, but they seem to produce the same type of players who lack fundementals and imagination. Serbia with Jokic for example is a nightmare matchup for France. Everything they are good at defensively is pretty much neutralized with the way Serbian offense operates with Jokic. And on the other hand their offense is predictable and somewhat easy to defend. I mean, they are good, will be among contenders, but I wouldn't say anything special, at least not yet.

As for Wemby, in that prep game vs Serbia he was basically baby food for Jokic. He is super talented, but has long, long ways to go before we can say he is a game changer. A player that tall shouldn't be taking that many contested jumpers and off the dribble shots with so little presence in the post. He is not ready yet for tough, physical basketball.

Wembanyama has a long way to go on the offensive end, thats true but he is even rn one of the best defenders in the NBA and he will most probably be the best defender of all time (if he can stay healthy). Everything else I totally agree.

[Serbian_Layup]

Absolutely. I'm a big believer in fundamentals. I take fundamentals instead of athleticism/explosiveness. BB shifted towards athleticism quite a bit recently and if you have Schroder or SGA or Doncic who has an athletic or strength advantage on you, you're in trouble to a certain degree, but only to a certain, and I think people a bit over emphasize this moment that look now only real NBA talent can be game changing material. It's more of than now, but not entirely. One our coach said that if we had today Siskauskas, Jasikevicius we still wouldn't be where we want cause there all these NBA monsters out there, but I disagree. Was Manu, T. Parker, Dirk, Pau bad in 00s? Nope. NBA talent always was there. Now it's even more of that, I agree, but when you have high IQ fundamentally sound players as Teo, Jasikevicius, Siska and all these guys who know how to exploit the space, how to make spot on reads and manipulate the D, you are in great situation. So I find this trivial and simplified outlook that "oh, now you absolutely need NBA talent to win" a bit off hand.

On other hand, it will be super hard to beat France's defense will all their scary wings, mobile bigs and lengthy swingmen. France will have special generation in upcoming 15 years. Even their upcoming 5 years of NBA drafts will also be loaded. Against them though, you might need something special when they will be at their peak with prime Wemby. There's a good chance they will be better than USA A team at some point.

France has zero on ball creation. Traore might change that, but they seem to produce the same type of players who lack fundementals and imagination. Serbia with Jokic for example is a nightmare matchup for France. Everything they are good at defensively is pretty much neutralized with the way Serbian offense operates with Jokic. And on the other hand their offense is predictable and somewhat easy to defend. I mean, they are good, will be among contenders, but I wouldn't say anything special, at least not yet.

As for Wemby, in that prep game vs Serbia he was basically baby food for Jokic. He is super talented, but has long, long ways to go before we can say he is a game changer. A player that tall shouldn't be taking that many contested jumpers and off the dribble shots with so little presence in the post. He is not ready yet for tough, physical basketball.

[Straight forward]

Topic has the highest ceiling among our guards and the biggest shot to make an impact in NBA, but Serbian basketball has a long list of players who didn't play in the NBA but had been game changers in FIBA ball. In that sense, Drezgic doesn't have to make it in NBA to be an impactful player for us. Especially when it comes to FIBA ball. We have a ton of evidence to support this argument. The deciding factor for Drezgic won't be his NBA readiness.

Absolutely. I'm a big believer in fundamentals. I take fundamentals instead of athleticism/explosiveness. BB shifted towards athleticism quite a bit recently and if you have Schroder or SGA or Doncic who has an athletic or strength advantage on you, you're in trouble to a certain degree, but only to a certain, and I think people a bit over emphasize this moment that look now only real NBA talent can be game changing material. It's more of than now, but not entirely. One our coach said that if we had today Siskauskas, Jasikevicius we still wouldn't be where we want cause there all these NBA monsters out there, but I disagree. Was Manu, T. Parker, Dirk, Pau bad in 00s? Nope. NBA talent always was there. Now it's even more of that, I agree, but when you have high IQ fundamentally sound players as Teo, Jasikevicius, Siska and all these guys who know how to exploit the space, how to make spot on reads and manipulate the D, you are in great situation. So I find this trivial and simplified outlook that "oh, now you absolutely need NBA talent to win" a bit off hand.

On other hand, it will be super hard to beat France's defense will all their scary wings, mobile bigs and lengthy swingmen. France will have special generation in upcoming 15 years. Even their upcoming 5 years of NBA drafts will also be loaded. Against them though, you might need something special when they will be at their peak with prime Wemby. There's a good chance they will be better than USA A team at some point.

[Serbian_Layup]

That's exactly my point and both can compliment each other. Yet I still believe Topic can dominate the game more and will have NBA career, while I have no idea if Drezgic with such profile has a chance to be legitimate NBA player. Nevertheless, as you said, Serbia has rare luxury at position 1.

Topic has the highest ceiling among our guards and the biggest shot to make an impact in NBA, but Serbian basketball has a long list of players who didn't play in the NBA but had been game changers in FIBA ball. In that sense, Drezgic doesn't have to make it in NBA to be an impactful player for us. Especially when it comes to FIBA ball. We have a ton of evidence to support this argument. The deciding factor for Drezgic won't be his NBA readiness.

[Straight forward]

Topic and Drezgic are different profiles, their game is different. Drezgic can shoot off the dribble, Topic not so much, Topic is maestro in p&r, Drezgic not so much and so on...However, Drezgic dominated U18 tournament and was the best guard along with Saraf and Anderson. When a player is dominating without using physical attributes I call that smoothness. Size and lack of athleticism could be problem for pro level, but the reason to be encouraged is his skill set and confidence to play the game in his own pace. As far as I'm concerned he might turn out to be a special player. Anyway, you can't ask more than having such prospects like Topic and Drezgic at PG. Time will tell the rest.

That's exactly my point and both can compliment each other. Yet I still believe Topic can dominate the game more and will have NBA career, while I have no idea if Drezgic with such profile has a chance to be legitimate NBA player. Nevertheless, as you said, Serbia has rare luxury at position 1.

[Toruko]

Well, he has the tools to be dominant at this level, but something was missing.

I had the same feeling tbh.

[Serbian_Layup]

Not true, Jakucionis was the best by far.

Well, he has the tools to be dominant at this level, but something was missing.

[Toruko]

Topic and Drezgic are different profiles, their game is different. Drezgic can shoot off the dribble, Topic not so much, Topic is maestro in p&r, Drezgic not so much and so on...However, Drezgic dominated U18 tournament and was the best guard along with Saraf and Anderson. When a player is dominating without using physical attributes I call that smoothness. Size and lack of athleticism could be problem for pro level, but the reason to be encouraged is his skill set and confidence to play the game in his own pace. As far as I'm concerned he might turn out to be a special player. Anyway, you can't ask more than having such prospects like Topic and Drezgic at PG. Time will tell the rest.

Not true, Jakucionis was the best by far.