Nikola Jokic finished with 6 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists in 23 minutes as Serbia routed Iceland 102-73 in an official FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European qualifier on Friday. The Nuggets center played a supporting role in the box score, with Nikola Jovic leading Serbia in scoring at 21 points.
This was an official qualifying game in Group J, not an exhibition, so the result and every player’s minutes count directly toward Serbia’s position in the group standings ahead of next year’s World Cup. Jokic’s line fits a recurring pattern for star bigs during this qualifying window: efficient, low-scoring nights built around rebounding and playmaking, since qualifying rosters often lean on deeper scoring options than a team’s single NBA star. Serbia controlled the game away from the box score’s biggest number, finishing with 45 rebounds and 29 assists against just 7 turnovers, the kind of possession-control margin that explains a 29-point final margin as much as any individual scoring line.
Serbia improved to 5-2 in Group J with the win, while Iceland fell to 4-3. Serbia is next scheduled to face Italy in Pesaro on Monday, a tougher measuring-stick game than Friday’s rout. For Jokic and the Nuggets, nights like this are a reminder that his value to Serbia’s program, and by extension his standing as the sport’s most complete offensive engine, was never built on volume scoring in the first place.
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