{"id":152649,"date":"2025-07-29T13:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=152649"},"modified":"2025-07-29T13:50:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:50:20","slug":"hawks-recent-signee-left-off-serbia-eurobasket-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/29\/hawks-recent-signee-left-off-serbia-eurobasket-roster\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawks Recent Signee Left Off Serbia EuroBasket Roster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/08\/questions-summer-league-hawks\/\" target=\"_self\">summer league<\/a> concludes, it is often the &#8220;dead season&#8221; across the NBA world. Most of the big-name free agents signed their deals when free agency first opened. However, every four years, this is not the case. Starting August 27, NBA fans can tune into EuroBasket to watch some of their favorite European players represent their home countries. Unfortunately for Atlanta Hawks sophomore, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/djurini01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107<\/a>, this honor will have to wait, as Serbia left the 21-year-old off its 2025 EuroBasket preliminary roster.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_92296\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-92296\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-92296\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23642126_168401876_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-92296\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jun 28, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks second round draft pick Nikola Djurisic (7) poses for a photo at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Hawks Recent Signee Left Off Serbia EuroBasket Roster<\/h2>\n<h3>\u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 Still Has a Bright Future in International Competition<\/h3>\n<p>Serbia boasts a deep roster featuring numerous NBA talents. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Joki\u0107<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bogdabo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bogdan Bogdanovi\u0107<\/a> headline the roster, but it also carries other experienced NBA players like <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jovicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jovi\u0107<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/micicva01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vasilije Mici\u0107<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vukcetr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tristan Vukcevic<\/a>. Last summer at the Paris Olympic Games, Serbia took home bronze, and it looks to improve on that result a year later.<\/p>\n<p>Even if \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 got selected, he would likely not be a part of Serbia&#8217;s deep rotation. However, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/en\/eurobasket\/1852340\/serbia-coach-pesic-explains-nikola-djurisics-absence-from-eurobasket-preliminary-roster\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">head coach Svetislav Pe\u0161i\u0107<\/a> made it clear \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 has an exciting international career ahead of him.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Djurisic is also the future of Serbian basketball. We were thinking of including him, but we have a lot of experienced players in that position&#8230; He\u2019s an excellent boy, hardworking, he managed to break through after all the injuries that befell him and signed a contract with the\u00a0Atlanta Hawks.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 suffered a fractured left foot at the 2024 summer league and was shut down until November. He spent all of last season with the College Park Skyhawks before signing a three-year, $5.9 million contract with Atlanta this summer. Right before the Hawks\u2019 first game in Las Vegas, \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 signed his deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>\u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107&#8217;s 2025 Summer League and Upcoming Role<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 played a crucial role in helping the Hawks go 4-1 in Las Vegas. Atlanta did not qualify for the summer league playoffs after a 4-0 record due to point differential. \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and shot 47.2% from the field. His ability to handle the rock and attack downhill with ease at 6-foot-7 is intriguing. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"pl\" dir=\"ltr\">Niko Euro \ud83d\udcb6 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qADWy6vrjX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/qADWy6vrjX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ATLHawks\/status\/1943776245763670446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He consistently got to the rim, forcing defenses to collapse. \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 also displayed great passing vision and quick decision-making.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"pl\" dir=\"ltr\">Niko spots Asa \ud83e\udd7d <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lXnF8uvTCa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/lXnF8uvTCa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ATLHawks\/status\/1945975159187198287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 must improve his perimeter shooting and defense to contribute at the highest levels of competition. He shot 1-4 from deep in four games at summer league and 18.1% on 3.5 attempts last season with the Skyhawks. He will likely work with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/korveky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Korver<\/a>, Atlanta&#8217;s assistant general manager, to develop his outside shot. Once he finds the range, he can use his burst off the dribble to punish aggressive closeouts. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite his speed and agility with the ball in his hands, \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 also struggled to keep opposing guards in front.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 is unlikely to play in the rotation with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/18\/hawks-front-office-addressed-3-key-issues\/\" target=\"_self\">Atlanta adding numerous new pieces<\/a> this offseason. The Hawks could send him to College Park so he could receive consistent playing time rather than sitting on the bench. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gueyemo02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mouhamed Gueye<\/a> went the same route in his rookie season. Both Serbia and the Hawks hold \u00d0juri\u0161i\u0107 in high regard for their futures.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Photo credit: \u00a9 Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After the summer league concludes, it is often the &#8220;dead season&#8221; across the NBA world. Most of the big-name free agents signed their deals when free agency first opened. However, every four years, this is not the case. Starting August 27, NBA fans can tune into EuroBasket to watch some of their favorite European players [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5516,"featured_media":152680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1608,62,3],"tags":[1131,49476,49386],"class_list":["post-152649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hawks","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-eurobasket","tag-nikola-djurisic","tag-team-serbia"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152649"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":152681,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152649\/revisions\/152681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}