It is without a doubt the slowest period of the year for the NBA, but for Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic and his home country of Serbia, the past couple weeks have been extremely important.
Serbia is currently fighting to qualify for the FIBA World Cup, which is much easier said than done. That is why, for Jokic and the country of Serbia, these past two games with the MVP anchoring their roster have been hyper-important.
Many teams struggle to qualify for the FIBA World Cup because nearly all of their elite players are playing in the NBA during the bulk of the qualifying games.