Serbia

Tracee Jay

Bogi’s so nice they gave him the award twice.

Bogdan Bogdanovic received the highest honor for a basketball player in Serbia – winning the Serbian Player of the Year for a second time.

Bogdanovic received 22 votes for the honor, while All-NBA player, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets received 11 votes.

The first time the Serbian product took home the top honor was in 2017.

There’s also some familiar company alongside him on the Player of the Year list.

Kings teammate Nemanja Bjelica took home the hardware in 2015.

As for this season, it’s easy to see how No. 8 took the top honor.

No. 8 came off an impressive 2018-19 campaign, which was closely followed by representing Serbia in the FIBA World Cup – where he was the top scorer in the tournament.

This season, he continues his rise with averages of 14.5 points, 3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

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Bogi Earns 2019 Serbian Player of the Year Award

22.9 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds.

That was the eye-opening stat line for the Kings guard, Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Representing Serbia in the FIBA World Cup, No. 8 put on a show for the world to see.

In addition to the electrifying stats he secured, he had a couple more that are worth noting.

Bogdanovic ended up scoring the most points overall in the 2019 competition (183 and also notched the impressive feat of making more 3-pointers by himself than seven of the national teams.

Serbia did not get the result they had hoped for as they finished fifth in the tournament, but that didn’t stop Bogi from earning some recognition.

His red-hot play earned him a place on the 2019 FIBA World Cup All-Star Team.

“I want to congratulate my teammates on another good tournament,” Bogdanovic said. ”We didn't make it till the end, but I know we will come here next time and be more motivated.”

He was joined by other notable NBA names representing their respective countries as well. Magic guard Evan Fournier (France), Suns guard Ricky Rubio (Spain), Raptors center Marc Gasol (Spain), and former NBA player Luis Scola (Argentina).

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Bogdanovic Named to 2019 FIBA World Cup All-Star Team

Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica will be honoring their home country at the FIBA Basket World Cup.

The Sactown duo join the 34-man preliminary list of players for the Cup, which is set to tip off later this summer.

Joining Sacramento’s own include Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia’s Boban Marjanovic, Milos Teodosic and more.

The team will kick-off training camp on July 21st, and play friendly games until they make their way to China on August 20th.

The Serbian team were runners-up at the World Cup five years ago after falling to Team USA. The squad is looking to avenge the loss this go-round.

You can watch Bogi, Nemanja and Team Serbia tip-off this year’s World Cup against Angola on August 31st at 9:30 CET.

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Bogdanovic, Bjelica Highlight Serbian FIBA World Cup Team

Dan Lovi

The U.S. Men’s National Team will tip-off against Serbia for the second time in the Olympic tournament, only this time, the stakes are much higher.

Serbia proved to be one of Team USA’s toughest opponents this summer, pushing the Americans to the final whistle in the fourth game of preliminary play. Bogdan Bogdanovic, whose rights were acquired by the Sacramento Kings on Draft night, had an opportunity to send the game into overtime with a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out.

Bogdanovic, who has averaged 13 points per game, finished the game against the U.S. with seven points, three assists and one rebound.

Miroslav Raduljica, the 7-foot Serbian center, leads his team in scoring averaging 15.9 points per game on an efficient 62 percent from the field. In his first contest against the U.S., Raduljica scored 18 points before fouling out in the second half.

Kevin Durant leads a balanced scoring attack for Team USA, averaging 17.9 points per contest, while shooting a tournament-leading 62 percent from three-point land. Olympic veteran Carmelo Anthony ranks second in scoring, averaging 12.9 points per game. Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins maintains averages of 8.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

In the first game against Serbia, the U.S. had six players in double figures, led by Kyrie Irving’s 15 points. Cleveland’s backcourt leader also matched Cousins by dishing out a team-high-tying five assists.

Boogie and Bogdanovic share common ground in the Olympics as both started for their teams in preliminary play, but have since moved to the sixth man role in elimination play.

The pair flourished in their reserve roles in the quarterfinals, with Boogie dropping 15 points against Argentina and Bogdan scoring 18 against Croatia. In the semifinals, Cousins scored just two points in limited minutes against Spain, while Bogdanovic tallied six against Australia.

Team USA has been on fire from three-point range throughout the Olympics, averaging a tournament-leading 37.6 percent while Serbia is fourth, averaging 35.7 percent.

Serbia

Bogi Earns 2019 Serbian Player of the Year Award

Bogdanovic Named to 2019 FIBA World Cup All-Star Team

Bogdanovic, Bjelica Highlight Serbian FIBA World Cup Team

USA vs Serbia Finals Preview