NBA program in Serbia will include Jokic, Harris
The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Gary Harris are among the NBA players and coaches set to participate in Basketball Without Borders Europe from Aug. 1518 in Belgrade, Serbia.
The community outreach program, which has been held since 2001, brings the top European male and female basketball players ages 17 and under together to compete against each other and learn from NBA and FIBA players and coaches.
“Hosting Basketball Without Borders in Belgrade is symbolic for the NBA since the first BWB camp brought together 50 young men from Eastern Europe more than 15 years ago,” NBA senior vice president for international basketball operations Kim Bohuny said in a statement. “The region has a deep connection to and history with the sport of basketball and the level of talent in the region and throughout Europe is at an alltime high. We look forward to providing the top young players on the continent with an opportunity to learn from and compete against one another.”
Jokic hails from Sombor, Serbia, and is the NBA’s top active player from the country. He led the Nuggets in scoring (18.5 points per game), rebounding (10.7 per game) and assists (6.1 per game), and ranked fourth in the NBA with 10 tripledoubles, a massive feat for a center. He agreed to sign a fiveyear, $148 million max contract extension with the Nuggets on Friday, the largest deal in franchise history.
Harris has developed
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into a twoway threat for Denver, averaging 17.5 points and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 39.6 percent from 3point range.
Other NBA players participating in the camp are Minnesota’s Nemanja Bjelica, Sacramento’s Bogdan Bogdanovic and Charlotte’s Frank Kaminsky. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, Indiana assistant Popeye Jones and Brooklyn assistant Jacque Vaughn will be the coaches. Sacramento general manager Vlade Divac and Kings director of player personnel and development Peja Stojakovic will also attend.
Basketball Without Borders held its Asia camp in Delhi National Capital Region, India, earlier this summer, while its Africa camp will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from Aug. 14.