In the new Netflix documentary series, Court of Gold, fans are treated to an incredible, inside look at the 2024 Paris Olympics through the lens of four basketball teams; Team USA, Team Canada, Team France, and Team Serbia.
The behind-the-scenes footage is amazing, extremely revealing, and informative. The basketball during those two weeks in August was great, but the camaraderie and competitiveness between the different players and countries may have been even greater.
Getting this kind of unprecedented access allows fans to relive the tournament with some next-level insight. It truly feels like being a fly on the wall during some very private and exclusive conversations. The fact that all parties involved agreed to pull back the curtain to this extent is a real gift that fans are lucky to be treated to.
It’s cool to see this side of people that fans already know so well as NBA players. Seeing them engage and interact as teammates and opponents is truly enthralling and creates some unbelievable moments. That’s especially the case with Denver Nuggets and Serbian superstar, Nikola Jokic.
For an international basketball superstar of his magnitude, Jokic is fairly private, and a bit of an unknown, even to Nuggets fans. Behind-the-scenes access is not a common occurrence with the Joker, so getting to see him up close with his countrymen like this is a rare treat.
Jokic implores teammates: ignore Adebayo, guard Durant
One of the funniest and most enlightening moments in the series comes early in the third episode while recounting Serbia’s opening loss in pool play to the USA. Kevin Durant completely lit up the Serbian team during the first half and as the video shows, Jokic and his coach were not happy about that at all.
The video cuts to the Serbian team in the locker room, with the players talking among themselves before the coach enters. Jokic seems disgusted but shows his leadership as he pleads with his teammates in an expletive-laden tirade (translated from Serbian), “Bro, if you have [Bam] Adebyao in the corner, and Durant is at 45, don’t f***ing stay on Adebayo if Durant is there”.
Jokic’s frustration was extremely clear as he was about to go on before his head coach stepped in and ripped his team apart for allowing KD to go nuclear. The moment was extremely tense and serious, but looking back, it’s hard not to laugh at Jokic’s anger here. He’s essentially pleading with his teammates to focus on Durant at the expense of Adebayo.
Bam is a great player, but he’s not a major offensive threat, nor is he much of a shooter. Especially in this context, surrounded by future Hall-of-Famers, Adebayo was the least of Serbia’s worries. Jokic knows this well from his time in the NBA, including the Nuggets’ domination of Adebayo and the Heat in the 2023 Finals.
You don’t usually see NBA stars talk about other stars like this, but Jokic was just speaking as one angry teammate to another and being completely blunt and honest in the moment. He showed an immense amount of respect for Durant and his talents while also managing to diminish and almost poke fun at Adebayo. And not a word he said was incorrect.
Watch Court of Gold only on Netflix