Rumors

Athletes like Bryant and tennis star Novak Djokovic have emphasized the role of quiet reflection or meditation in their ability to make quick decisions and maintain better performance. From my experience, the effects were subtle but noticeable. I felt a bit more motivated to tackle tasks I’d been putting off, because sitting without distractions made certain things harder to ignore. “You get a chance to observe the self,” Bryant once said. “And things that may be lying beneath the surface that, if you don’t have that time to sit quietly on your own, you’ll never pay attention to.”

New York Times

Fullcourtpass: Giannis Antetokounmpo watching Olympiacos in Greece with Novak Djokovic (Via @BasketNews_com )

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Madrid is set to host two global sports superstars on April 16, as Luka Doncic and Novak Djokovic are expected to attend the EuroLeague regular season clash between Real Madrid and Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, sources tell BasketNews. The game carries significant implications, with Real Madrid pushing for a top-two seed while Crvena Zvezda aiming to break into the top six for direct playoff qualification. Both global sports stars have strong ties to European basketball.

BasketNews

The atmosphere was charged by the presence of the Serbian icon, who shared a warm exchange with the Lakers‘ leader, Luka Doncic. The Slovenian superstar dominated the floor, fueling the win with 28 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting performance, including four strikes from beyond the arc. Despite playing only 29 minutes in the blowout, the 27-year-old guard orchestrated the offense with nine assists, while adding a block and a steal to his stat line. In the postgame press conference, Doncic expressed his admiration for his fellow Balkan athlete. “For me, he’s the GOAT. So, for him being here, watching me, it’s just unbelievable. I talked to him. I’ll probably see him after. I’m just excited he’s here,” he noted.

EuroHoops.net

Maverick Carter is no longer involved with the planned international basketball league that aims to disrupt the sport, multiple sources told Front Office Sports. “Project B,” as it has been called behind the scenes for nearly two years, still plans to launch next fall with 5-on-5 men’s and women’s basketball leagues. Led by Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, the investor group also includes tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Sloane Stephens; former WNBA stars Candace Parker, Alana Beard, and Lauren Jackson; and ex-NFL quarterback Steve Young. The group would not yet disclose the official name for the planned league.

Front Office Sports

Support for the Serbian captain is coming from all sides, and now from Novak Djokovic, the greatest tennis player of all time. Djokovic had problems with the same injury, so in a conversation with Bogdanovic, the man with whom he celebrated great successes, he had something to say besides just support. "The moment I read that he was injured, I contacted him immediately. He told me that he would be fine and that it was nothing serious, but I saw that unfortunately he would not play," Djokovic told Serbian reporters at the US Open. "I called him again and he told me that unfortunately it was a more serious injury. I gave him some suggestions, ways he might be able to speed up his recovery. But it doesn't seem to be helping this time."

Meridian Sports

"The NBA season takes a lot out of him. Every year, we have either it's a European championship, or a World Championship, or the Olympic Games... And there is always a question mark 'Will he play? Is he gonna play for his national team?' There is always a debate. People are very passionate about the best players playing for our national team. It’s a lot of responsibility for him. I get him, I understand that. But he has done so much for our country and then for basketball as a whole. It’s amazing."

YouTube

“Basketball is the biggest sport we have in our country,” he explained, “Jokic is phenomenal. Honestly, what he does, how he does it. And also, the way he goes about his private life. People thought at the beginning that he was fake, that he was like not interested in anything except his family and his horses. But that’s really everything he is interested in, truthfully, honestly. I really respect that.” “He’s such a talent, he also works hard, and he has got a huge basketball IQ, and just to see him dominate with incredible athletes in American basketball is just something we are all very proud of,” he added, “We all support him.”

EuroHoops.net

Luka Doncic: 🐐🐐🐐 @DjokerNole

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Wimbledon: Who better to welcome @russwest44 to SW19, than @DjokerNole 🏀🎾 #Wimbledon

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NBA: Curry x Djokovic 🏀🎾

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Novak Djokovic recalled watching Nikola Jokic play in Serbia once. And another time in Turkey, when Jokic was suiting up for the Serbian national team. But this was Djokovic’s first time rooting for his friend live at an NBA game. Jokic supplied 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. So, as he was saying … “What he has done for not just Serbian basketball but European basketball in general is incredible,” Djokovic continued after Jokic turned the other way. “He has rewritten the history books in the last three years, and he just keeps going. He is in his prime. He’s the best. We’re super proud of him. I’m a great supporter of him, everything he does. We didn’t have too many athletes like him in the history (of Serbia), so he’s right up there. And he still isn’t finished.”

Denver Post

Djokovic considers basketball the “No. 1 sport” in Serbia. He’s enough of a hoops fan to remember Jokic playing in the Serbian and Adriatic leagues as a fringe NBA prospect a decade ago. Eventually, as Jokic’s status grew, the two athletes met through mutual friends. They ran into each other at a couple of sporting events in Serbia. They developed a mutual fandom that extended to congratulatory texts from Djokovic to Jokic during the Nuggets’ 2023 playoff run.

Denver Post

“We always followed each other’s careers and respected and admired each other,” Djokovic said. “So now I think the more time passes by, the more we appreciate each other and what we are doing professionally. But also privately, I think we click really well. He’s a family-oriented guy like myself. He’s really close with his family, with his origins, with his country, with his city. And it’s very important obviously to never forget where you came from. He reached the summit of one of the most important sports in the world and is one of the most recognized athletes in the world. It’s just amazing he’s from Serbia.”

Denver Post