Why Serbians Are So Good At Basketball

Have you ever wondered why Serbians are so successful in both the NBA, the EuroLeague & FIBA? Well, apparently it’s a combination of 4 different factors that Gytis breaks down in this video. From Nikola Jokic type of selfless mentality to a culture of winning that runs through Serbia’s veins. Big thank you to Mozzart Sport journalist Nikola Stojkovic for helping out with this video!

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#NBA #EuroLeague #Basketball

Silver medals in the 2023 World Cup six players in the NBA out of which one has won the MVP twice another is one of the leaders for the Hawks and one is a former Euroleague MVP after that 27 Euroleague players and all the historic achievements prior making me ask this

Why serbians are so good at basketball and of course as a Lithuanian I cannot just give you a straightup answer that’s why I spoke with Serbian basketball journalist Nicola stovich who helped me understand the reasons behind Serbia’s success the first reason that Nola mentioned was genetics I think it’s

Genetics not going to lie it took me by surprise at first but I guess the more you think about it a sufficient Nationwide height is a must for basketball for example take the Philippines people are obsessed with basketball there these guys literally create modified rosters on 2K with their

Whole domestic league but guess what height is just not in their genes so no matter what part of the population is playing basketball only a handful have the right physical tools to achieve high level of course it’s not just about towering over opponents it’s more about that athleticism running through Serbian

Veins you see Serbia isn’t a one sport Wonder it’s a nation where Sports is a way of life tennis football volleyball water polo you name it even looking at basketball players yic was racing horses in his youth MIT was skiing and Heat niol yovic played water polo before he

Ever touch the basketball and then take into account that most of Serbian basketball players parents were probably athletes in one sport or another which kind of means that these athletic abilities like agility or coordination is just in their DNA now let’s talk early exposure Nia told me that it’s

Almost a guarantee that your Serbian parents will hand you a ball of some kind when you’re still a toddler talk about ball is life which I do relate to since in Lithuania it’s also dribbling passing and shooting before you start worrying how to walk also this early

Embrace of the game isn’t just about developing skills it’s about learning to love basketball from early on I guess it reflects on why Serbian fans are so passionate too if you ask a dieh hard seran as vesda or partisan fan why they support that team specifically you’re

Going to hear about their dad or their grandpa or their Uncle it’s literally generational so when we talk about genetics it’s not just about physical attributes it’s a perfect storm of height athleticism early exposure and a cultural Embrace of basketball next up is something nicoa kept repeating throughout our conversation they just

Like to win it’s a fanatical desire you know to win we started winning our desire to win winning the silver medal it’s that unique Serbian mindset that craves victory over anything else before the 2022 Euro basket ni yic laid it out plain and simple we don’t like sports

And basketball we like victories and medals that’s not just a statement about basketball it could be the slogan for Serbian Sports winning isn’t a goal it’s a necessity an obsession that drives every athlete coach and fan and this desire to win isn’t confined to the

Court as the Joker said it’s a way of life I think the motivation is actually becomes your lifestyle of being obsessed with a success winning is a lifestyle and that applies not just to professional basketball players but also simple pickup games in the neighborhood or even a card game this fanatical

Desire to win is something I should really repeat over and over again since it’s so embedded in this nation’s Culture generation to generation creating Serbian athletes who don’t just want to win they need to win however success is not taken for granted in Serbia in fact regardless of this winning mentality their national basketball team has had long stretches of failures in the international competitions which means when they do

Win the celebrations are nuts just look how they greeted the Serbian national team after they came back from the 2023 World Cup with silver [Applause] Medals that’s the kind of support that really fuels that winning mentality when you have the whole nation behind you failure is just not an option also looking a bit deeper every Victory is seen as a testament to hard work and determination which are also things I’ll touch later

On in this video before we get there though Serbian fans listen up do you remember this Nica yic Jersey That was supposed to go out when we hit 75,000 subscribers well it’s it went out but the dress was wrong so it got returned which means that you can get it if you

Just subscribe and tell me down below why do you think serbians are so good at basketball maybe I’ll just pick my favorite comment instead of doing it randomly because as you can see that didn’t work anyhow back to the video to better understand the present we must

Look at the past from humble beginnings back in 1923 to 2023 when the country celebrated A Century of basketball in ser a 100 Years of history that led serbians to become a powerhouse on the international stage Nia first paid his respects to the Pioneers or as he called

It the founding fathers like Bora stankovich Alexander nikolic neboa popovic Radomir shapper and many more these were the architects of what we understand as the Serbian basketball culture today and of course when talking about Serbia we cannot exclude the Yugoslavian era which was kind of their Golden Age beginning in the 19 1960s

Yugoslavia emerged as a basketball Force dominating International competitions and collecting a total of 24 medals out of which eight were gold I guess you can start to understand how that winning mentality was established but when I asked Nica to point out what he thinks were the biggest achievements ever two

Dates came to mind first the 1995 Euro basket were in a nailbiter final versus Lithuania serbians came out on top with the gold [Applause] [Applause] Anyways conquering Europe wasn’t the biggest achievement that crowning Jewel came in the 2002 World Cup where Serbia not only claimed gold versus Argentina but also secured a legendary Victory against the United States in their backyard [Applause] the history between these two countries definitely made it a much bigger deal

And that’s why eliminating the US in the quarterfinals is something every Serbian remembers today where were you on 5th of September of 2012 they will definitely say you know they were watching the game against USA and to beat USA in that in their backyard is something to remember

Since the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991 Serbia won another 12 medals and produced so many great NBA and Euro league players that naming all of them would really be pointless but that leads me to my next point which is Serbian School of basketball let’s try to break

It down a little at the heart of it we find two words hard work that Serbian or perhaps more accurately Yugoslavian work ethic has literally become synonymous with European basketball in general reasons being that a lot of great Balon coaches who were taught basketball there l later pass on that mentality to their

Players who then would become coaches and the cycle continues remember the news of five or six hour long practices in Europe sure some reports were exaggerated but that’s not the point long practices and hard work is something that starts from the youth system and continues into the professional scene it obviously has

Become a topic of discussion in the modern times whether it should change and adapt but you cannot argue with the results and the level of talent coming from Serbia every year to add to that some Serbian players have stated before that they felt overtrained when they eventually moved to countries like Spain

And saw what the basketball culture is like there another thing is what’s being prioritized from early on while in the United States the emphasis is on the individual and their skills Serbian basketball is all about team’s needs and doing the right thing to achieve the win in other words Serbian players have been

Brought up to be selfless on the court and stats is something of no significance when you have a line that’s never been accomplished before in finals history what do you think of that to be honest I just think it’s a win you know to be honest I don’t care it’s just it’s

Just a stat and I’m not just talking about yic because this is the mentality of Serbian players who first think what do I need to do for the team to win and not why am I not getting the ball enough whether it’s the club or the national team nobody’s bothered by fewer minutes

Or a limited role as long as the team wins lastly selflessness does not end with the offense but also extends to defense it is the backbone of Serbian basketball not an afterthought but the starting point your team needs you to make a smart foul to stop the break you

Take it without questions asked obviously lockdown defense is not unique to just Serbia but believe me that’s something that’s both emphasized and utilized to a great extent take serenus vesda for example it historically has been one of of the best defensive teams in the Euroleague that use defensive

Effort to compensate for the lack of offensive Talent now guess what all those things that I mentioned when talking about the Serbian School of basketball comes down to one thing the desire to win no matter what and that’s my biggest takeaway from the discussion I had with Nia and all the research I

Did on Serbian basketball this country is just obsessed with winning and that’s the true driver of their success let me know in the comments if you guys agree with these reasons why serbians are so good at basketball also I’d like to hear your suggestions of which countries I

Should break down next like this video subscribe and I’ll see you in the next one