We’ll never root for a King to lose, but we will certainly find the silver linings when they do.
The Serbian National Team were victims of a big upset on Tuesday, losing 97-87 to Argentina in the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIBA World Cup. For the two Sacramento Kings players on the Serbian roster, the loss may come as a blessing in disguise.
Despite having NBA MVP candidate Nikola Jokic on the team, the Kings own Bogdan Bogdanovic was the undisputed leader for Serbia throughout the World Cup. He averaged the 5th most points (20.7) of any player in the tournament, and the most of anyone on a Serbian team that was predicted to finish in the top-3.
The other Sacramento King on the Serbian roster was Nemanja Bjelica, who wound up being Serbia’s second-leading scorer behind Bogdanovic. Bjelica started off the Cup with a bang, going 7 for 7 from the field against the Philippines. He had a rough go against Spain in the final game of group play, but rebounded for 18 points against Argentina in Serbia’s final game.
Had Serbia advanced and had they ultimately won the tournament, Bogdanovic had a very real shot of being the MVP of the World Cup. The hardware would have been great both for Bogi’s confidence as well as his reputation and value going forward.
But because Bogdanovic and Bjelica received a premature ticket home, they have afforded themselves an extra handful of days to rest and prepare for the long grind of the upcoming NBA season. Instead of having less than two weeks between the end of the tournament and the start of Kings training camp, they each now have nearly three.
This fact carries plenty of importance, given the fact that the Sacramento Kings will be one of the most traveled teams this NBA season, an amount that does not include their pre-season trip to India. Sacramento will need fresh legs down the stretch of the regular season if they want to compete for an elusive playoff spot.
While Bogdanovic and Bjelica are on their way out of Beijing, the important games for fellow King Harrison Barnes are just getting started. Should they advance to the finals of the tournament, Team USA still has three games to play over the next five days.