Serbia defeats Germany to claim Paris Olympics bronze

Serbia recovered from a tough loss against Team USA in the semifinals to snag the bronze medal of the Paris 2024 Olympics after beating Germany, 83-73, at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France. 

Serbia lost the semifinal game to the USA by just 4 points after leading for a staggering 35 minutes throughout the game. The Serbians vented their ire against Germany, the team they lost to in the FIBA World Cup championship game. That was without three-time NBA MVP for Serbia though, and this time with Jokic around, he was the difference against the Germans. 

Jokic was brilliant from start to finish, collecting a triple-double stat line of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. NBA players Bogdan Bogdanovic and Vasilje Micic added 19 and 16 points respectively as Serbia dominated Germany thoroughly. 

Franz Wagner led the fightback for the Germans with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists while Moritz Wagner and Dennis Schroder added 16 and 13 points of their own. 

Germany closes their summer 4th place – a huge achievement following their first-ever appearance at an Olympic semifinal. They are already the world champions and having yet another experience at high-stakes basketball only gives Germany the necessary experience needed to medal at the next version of the Games.

For Serbia, this is a redemption from their silver medal finish in the FIBA World Cup and after failing to finish on the podium in Tokyo 2020. Serbia already finished in 2nd place in 2016 against Team USA, and this bronze cements their place as one of the top basketball nations in the world.