Gregg Popovich dismissed some trash talk from Serbia’s coach ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Serbia is viewed as a top challenger in the event to the favored United States. Serbian head coach Sasha Djordjevic seemed to say that the Americans needed to worry about Serbia more than the other way around.
“Let’s let them [Team USA] play their basketball and we will play ours and if we meet, may God help them,” Djordjevic said, via Eurohoops.com.
Popovich, who is the head coach for USA Basketball, was asked about Djordjevic’s comments and decided to stay above the matter.
Gregg Popovich acknowledged hearing it but predictably declined to counter the recent tout from his Serbian counterpart Sasa Djordevic that the Serbians can give Team USA real problems: "People will talk but it's usually not something I respond to."
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 14, 2019
If the quote from Djordjevic made its way to Popovich, there is a good chance the San Antonio Spurs coach will pass it along to his players as motivation.
What makes Serbia a leading contender at the World Cup? They have some strong NBA players, including Nikola Jokic, Milos Teodosic, Boban Marjanovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
