Denver Nuggets superstar big man and league MVP Nikola Jokic announced in a statement that he will not be joining the Serbian national basketball team for at least the Olympic qualifying tournament, according to ESPN.
“The simple condition of my body requires a longer absence from the field for recovery,” Jokic wrote in a translated statement. Jokic continued by adding that the move was at the Nuggets’ suggestion “and an inevitability that I must accept.”
At this time it is unclear if Jokic, 26, would join Serbia at the Tokyo Games should they qualify.