Odds

Serbians account for .1% of the world population, not 1% but a negligible .1%. Yet they produced sports greats Nikola Jokic and Novak Djokovic who scored historic firsts. Novak won his third French Open title in the absence of the ailing king of clay. He nonetheless became the first and only man in history to collect 23, just one slam shy of the all-time but not the best-time record of 24 held by the antiquated Margaret Court. The Australian woman continues to hold her non-record because Serena Williams retired with 23, and on to her exclusionist discords.

Nikola Jokic led the 47-year franchise Denver Nuggets to its first ever NBA crown. He also became the lowest draft pick to be crowned most valuable in the finals. But he was not so welcome to begin with in his journey to greatness in the world’s premiere basketball league.

In 2014, he was picked in the second round draft away from the viewers. ESPN did not beam his milestone on TV, dimming the light for the Serbians who were instead treated to a Taco Bell commercial and denied the chance to witness historic grand entrance of their countryman. No problem, the 6’11’ stick from Eastern Europe chose to forget about the manner of his entry, he focused more on his future and the quality of his play.

Fast forward to 2023, Jokic averaged 30.2 points, 14 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in the series against Miami Heat. In Game 3, he and Jamal Murray became the first teammates in finals history to record the never before triple-doubles. Jokic sank in 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists while Murray scored more with 34, rebounded less with 10 but evened with 10 assists, plus a rebound bound for winning with less than 9 seconds remaining.

In Game 5, Jokic stood out with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. The late match heat surge of Jimmy Butler was too late to fry the nuggets dry. And now that commercial clip with the name Jokic the 41st pick inconspicuous at the bottom of the TV screen has gone viral, boosting its market value by millions of dollars. The Serbian unwittingly endorsed the food chain that stole his thunder. Fans now salivate at quesarito with gusto, courtesy of a man representing 7 million Serbians.

Yes, just 7 million and yet they gave us two one in a billion success stories, even if their country is war torn. Whereas the stupidity divided country of 110 million is busier with entertainment, even if it populated the world with its labor force forced to work abroad. It produced nothing in the sport it is obsessed with, except the regional gold hard fought by a naturalized player and mostly heritage players. Thankfully, Hidilyn Diaz, Carlos Edriel Yulo and EJ Obiena were born to a less supportive nation. Two of them were torn, but still became world champions.