Lazar Djokovic and Djordje Curcic entered the locker room of the College of Charleston in the TD Arena with a little more momentum in their steps.

It was the day before the U.S. basketball team was scheduled to face Serbia in a showdown of global superpowers in the opening round of the Paris Olympics.

Djokovic and Curcic, both from Serbia, transferred to the College of Charleston last spring and, with the big match approaching, couldn’t resist throwing a few verbal jabs at their American teammates.

“Of course we had to talk a little bit of trash,” said Djokovic, who played at Xavier last season. “It was just friendly trash talking among teammates, nothing personal, but we have to support our home country and show them that we can play basketball at a very high level.”

The US team, led by LeBron James and Kevin Durant, easily defeated the Serbian team 110-84 in the opening game of the Olympic Games on July 28.

Djokovic had believed that a rematch in the semifinals would be much closer – and he couldn’t have been more right.

The United States had to overcome a 17-point deficit in the second half, beat Serbia for a second time, 95-91, and advance to the gold medal game against France on August 10.

“We know we can compete with anyone in the world,” Djokovic said.

Given the influx of international talent into the sport over the past two decades, it should come as no surprise that the U.S. team was pushed to the brink by Serbia.

Every men’s basketball team at the Paris Olympics had at least one current or former NBA player on its roster.

The Olympic tournament featured 41 current NBA players, including international players from Canada, Spain, Greece, Brazil, South Sudan, France, Germany and Serbia.

Dream Team

The explosion of interest in Olympic basketball and the invasion of international players on American soil can be traced directly to the 1992 U.S. Olympic “Dream Team,” which included Hall of Fame players such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

In 1992, College of Charleston assistant coach Chris Harriman was a 13-year-old budding basketball junkie in Sydney, Australia, watching along with the rest of the planet what many considered to be the most talented collection of basketball players ever assembled on one team.

“The Dream Team further enhanced my love of the game,” said Harriman, who eventually came to the United States to play college basketball at Augusta State University. “The global reach of the Dream Team was unprecedented. This team had a tremendous impact on the Olympics and international basketball as a whole.”

Last season, the NBA had 125 international players on its roster, and since 2019, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, all foreign-born players, have won the league’s MVP award.

This trend is likely to continue, as 21 of the 58 NBA draft picks in June were international players, including the two top picks Zaccharie Risacher (France) and Alex Sarr (France).

“It’s one thing to see superstars play in the Olympics, but when you see your own countrymen get drafted and shine in the NBA, it has a huge impact,” Harriman said. “When I saw Andrew Bogut selected No. 1 in 2005, that was a real message to me of what was possible. Here was an Australian who was going to play in the best league in the world.”

College game

More and more college coaches are jumping on the international bandwagon. According to the NCAA, 14.7 percent (684 of 4,666) of Division I men’s basketball rosters in the 2023-24 season consisted of international players.

“International players and coaches have changed the game in America by making us look at it differently,” Harriman said. “You go to some of these international events and see these great coaches from France, Lithuania, Serbia and Croatia and you think, ‘I’ve never seen this drill before. I’ve never seen anyone defend a ball screen like that.’

“It’s changed the mentality. Before, there were only one or two ways to play the game. Or there were only one or two attacks you could do, now there are different ways to play. More brain power is required to think about the game than ever before.”

The Cougars have seven international players on their roster for the upcoming 2024-25 season. In addition to Djokovic and Curcic, the Cougars have players from Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Lithuania, including Croatian All-CAA forward Ante Brzovic.

CofC could easily field an all-international team at the same time this winter.

“If they all spoke in their native languages ​​at the same time, it would be chaos,” Harriman said with a chuckle. “There are Lazar and Djordje, two Serbian kids, who can communicate with Ante (Brzovic) on the ground and nobody would understand them. It’s unbelievable.”

When Harriman went to Europe to recruit players in the past, it would have been rare to find other American college coaches in the same gym.

“That changed about five years ago,” Harriman said. “I was at a tournament in Finland last month and watched the France-Lithuania game. More than 65 NBA scouts, general managers and coaches watched those teams play.”

“The NBA doesn’t want to miss out on the next Giannis and the next Jokic, and college basketball coaches are starting to realize the benefits of recruiting international players.”