Nikola Jokic sends strong leadership message by forcing $23,030,850 Serbian teammate in powerful gesture

For years, Nikola Jokic has been the face of the Denver Nuggets franchise. Away from the NBA stage, Jokic is a leader as well on the Serbian national team, as he demonstrated in a moment recently caught on camera.

In a viral clip posted on X, Jokic can be seen issuing instructions to younger teammate Nikola Topic as they sit on the bench, presumably during a friendly game ahead of EuroBasket 2025. Appearing to heed the words of the veteran center, Topic gets up from his seat and begins high-fiving other teammates.

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After getting drafted 12th overall in the 2024 NBA draft, Topic went on to miss the entirety of the 2024-25 season as he recovered from an ACL injury. Last month, the 6-foot-6 court general made it to the 17-man preliminary pool that Serbia will be working with before EuroBasket tips off in late August.

Topic, who is on a $23,030,850 contract with OKC as per Spotrac, has the rare opportunity of learning from an all-time great like Jokic. From the looks of it, the Joker was all business as he imparted a lesson in respect to the 20-year-old guard.

Jokic himself is looking to go all the way to the championship stage of this year's EuroBasket after coming up short in the 2025 NBA playoffs. With their three-time MVP leading the charge, the Nuggets went the distance with the OKC Thunder but ultimately lost Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Ironically, Topic was listed as an active player on that Thunder lineup that eliminated Denver and went on to win the NBA title. The youngster may have techinically gotten the better of Jokic in the NBA playoffs, but on the Serbian national team, Jokic is a leader that Topic has every reason to listen to.

Viral clip shows Nikola Jokic presenting ID upon entry to facility during EuroBasket preps

By this point, Jokic has become one of the most recognizable athletes on the globe. However, even an international icon like Jokic has to comply with basic regulations.

Last week, a viral clip posted by FIBA EuroBasket shows the former NBA Finals MVP presenting his ID upon entering a facility.

Though Jokic is one of the most accomplished basketball players in recent history, he clearly has no qualms with the protocol of showing his identification card.

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About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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