Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic led Serbia to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Serbia lost to Team USA in the semifinals and led for most of the game but could not hold on to their advantage in the fourth quarter.

While much of the attention in this game was focused on Serbia’s inability to hold on to its lead, NBA legend Charles Barkley believes the game shouldn’t have even been close.

During his appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show, Barkley criticized Team USA and explained how Jokic managed to keep the game close despite a significant talent disadvantage.

“I think they played too slow because you could see what (Jokic) was doing,” Barkley said. “He was running out the clock, he was driving the ball out of bounds and letting it roll down the court. They basically turned a 40-minute game into a 35- to 37-minute game. So they made them play slow. I think they should have played a lot faster.”

Jokic made history at the Paris Olympics by becoming the first player ever to lead the tournament in total points, rebounds and assists.

Before assessing the USA-Serbia game, Barkley made another eye-opening statement: He said Team USA doesn’t even have room for Serbia’s second-best player.

“They have wild cards, but the second-best player on their team was Bogdanovic,” Barkley said. “Is Bogdanovic going to make the U.S. Olympic team? There’s no way he’s going to make the Olympic team.”

While Bogdanovic is a great player, Barkley is right on this point, which makes Jokic’s performance at the Olympics even more impressive.

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