Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the winners of each of the last four Most Valuable Player trophies, faced off against each other Tuesday.
Jokic represented Serbia while Antetokounmpo represented Greece in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. Based on the seeding, however, it was a must-win game for Serbia. Fortunately for Jokic, the game was in Belgrade at Stark Arena in Serbia, which gave them a massive home-court advantage.
Both players looked outstanding during the game, and Serbia needed to emerge victorious to qualify for the World Cup. During the game’s second half Jokic switched to defend Antetokounmpo on every possession and he regularly contained him one-on-one.
In the fourth quarter, on the offensive side of the floor, Jokic was somehow able to beat Antetokounmpo off the dribble for an absurd stepback jumper from the corner:
This shot from Jokic over Giannis. 😳🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 25, 2022
The possession shocked everyone, including other NBA players who were tweeting about the game.
Eventually, the match went into overtime, and the two superstars both took over for their respective nations. You can watch some of the best highlights below:
Jokic & Giannis going at each other in OT. 🇬🇷🇷🇸
MVPs giving us exactly what we asked for 🤤#FIBAWC x #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/REokvQlINi
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) August 25, 2022
Antetokounmpo finished with 40 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. That was his career-high in scoring for the Greek national team.
Jokic had 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists while also coming away with the victory. It was an absolutely marvelous performance from the reigning MVP.
DNVR’s Harrison Wind captured a video of Jokic walking off the court that will give you immediate chills:
It’s his time pic.twitter.com/oUf6vq3LNY
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) August 25, 2022
Serbia plays against Turkey on August 28, and Greece will take on Belgium.
FIBA’s first EuroBasket tournament since 2017 then begins on September 1. Jokic and Antetokounmpo, as well as Luka Doncic and several other NBA stars, are expected to participate for their national teams.
