The founding of Dubai Basketball and its admission into the Adriatic Basketball Association League has been hailed by three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic as a “great thing” for the sport in the Emirates.

Abdulla Saeed Al Naboodah founded Dubai Basketball in 2023 as a new professional team that will play in the 2024–2025 European Basketball Association.

Dubai Basketball, which has won both of its first games in the league, boasts a formidable roster with players from the Philippines, Turkey, the US, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Jordan, Latvia, and Italy, among other countries.

The Serbian squad Mega MIS, where Jokic started his professional career and played for three seasons before being selected by the Denver Nuggets, will be their next opponent at Coca-Cola Arena on Saturday.

Jokic has heard good things about Dubai Basketball while playing for the Nuggets at the NBA Abu Dhabi Games in the United Arab Emirates.

At the Etihad Arena on Thursday, the 2022–2023 NBA champion told reporters, “I think it’s a great thing for the country and for basketball.”

“I think basketball needs and should grow more.”

According to my buddies that play in Dubai, it’s a well-run organization. They say that everything is ideal, so perhaps basketball will continue to expand in this nation.

After visiting with the Serbian national team in the summer to get ready for their bronze-winning effort at the Olympics in Paris, Jokic is in Abu Dhabi for the second time in three months.

Jokic, who owns multiple horses and is a fervent supporter of horse racing, was questioned about his intentions to investigate the UAE’s equestrian sector.

The best horses are there, so I want to see the horses,” he retorted. I doubt I’ll have time, but perhaps I will.

Jokic is confident about his level of conditioning going into the upcoming NBA season, even if his offseason was cut short because of his Olympic obligations.

“We shall see,” he said. My endurance is unaffected by the fact that we won the championship the last time I played for the national team.

“Perhaps I’ll be even more fit. We’ll find out when the season begins or possibly when it concludes.

The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated Jokic and his colleagues in the playoffs the next season after the Denver Nuggets won their first-ever NBA championship in 2023.

Jokic highlighted that his desire for the current season has had “zero” effect by his early exit, saying, “Last year doesn’t motivate me,” as he talked about how hard it is to defend an NBA title—something the Golden State Warriors haven’t done since 2017 and 2018.

“They always say it’s tough to win a championship again, but it’s tough to win one at all,” the 29-year-old Serbian said.

“It felt like we didn’t have a rest after experiencing so many different feelings after winning a championship. Perhaps we were exhausted, or maybe we weren’t.

“We should just be happy that we won the championship because many great teams never do that, and everything else is just extra,” I said.

In addition to veteran point guard Russell Westbrook and Croatian forward/center Dario Saric, the Nuggets will again rely on the potent combination of Jokic and Jamal Murray.

In practice, Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star and former NBA MVP, has been animated and talkative. He brings a wealth of leadership and expertise from his 16 seasons in the league.

Jokic praised Westbrook, saying, “He’s always positive, a great teammate both on and off the court.” “I hope he keeps up his excellent play throughout the season because he has been nothing short of that so far.”

As part of the third NBA Abu Dhabi Games, the Nuggets will play two preseason games against the Boston Celtics, the current NBA champions, at Etihad Arena on Yas Island on October 4 and 6.