The basketball world is still reeling from the results of EuroBasket 2025’s first-round matchup between Finland and Serbia. Despite Jokic’s crew being heavily favored, Serbia is now out of the tournament in what many are calling one of the greatest upsets in modern basketball history.
FINLAND HAS COMPLETED ONE OF THE BIGGEST UPSETS IN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL#EUROBASKET pic.twitter.com/4QQrJzkCjV
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 6, 2025
Saturday marked the first day of the Round of 16, and Serbia came in as the favorites to not just win this game, but to win the entire tournament. With 2x MVP Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Nikola Jovic, they had a strong roster and a group with a lot of chemistry and experience playing at the highest levels.
Unfortunately for the Serbs, however, not even the presence of the best player in the world was enough to get them out of the opening stage of play. It’s now the second EuroBasket in a row that Serbia has been eliminated early, with their loss in 2022 coming at the hands of Italy.
This time, it was Finland who took them down in a highly competitive six-point win (92-86). NBA star Lauri Markkanen led the way for his team with 29 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Elias Valtonen was also the key to Finland’s victory with 13 points and four rebounds, including eight straight points at the end of the fourth quarter.
While there’s still plenty of games left to play in the tournament, this one will have fans talking for a while.
“Finland eliminates Serbia with the biggest upset of Eurobasket! Incredible team performance, this wasn’t just Lauri,” one fan posted. “Another disappointing Eurobasket for Serbia and Jokic, just like 2022, eliminated in the round of 16 again.”
Of course, the loss of Bogdan Bogdanovic could be felt on Serbia’s end, and one has to wonder how much his absence played a role in the upset.
“The injury loss of captain Bogdan Bogdanovic early in the tournament certainly created some guard play issues and lowered Serbia’s ceiling,” wrote Marc Stein. “But they were still expected to handle Finland.”
There’s also the issue of Serbia’s performance defensively. It wasn’t lost on fans how much they struggled on that end, and how much Finland was attacking Jokic on defense despite an impressive statline of 33 points, eight rebounds, three assists on 69% shooting.
“Serbia losing before the round of 8 is one of the crazier sports upsets in a while, to be completely honest,” wrote one fan on X. “Hard to win when your superstar was as bad defensively as Jokic was in the games I watched at least.”
As for Markkanen, it’s arguably the biggest win of his basketball career, given that he’s yet to make the NBA playoffs.
“Lauri Markkanen with what is unquestionably the best moment of his career so far,” one fan argued. “He led Finland with 29 points in a shocking upset over Nikola Jokic and Serbia in elimination play at EuroBasket. Biggest win of his career by far.”
Jokic is officially done for the summer, and he remains without a single EuroBasket medal. For a guy who has won three MVPs and an NBA championship, it’s weird that he struggles to make it out of the first round of EuroBasket, but it might give legitimacy to the idea that the European game is actually harder than the NBA.
In fact, Jokic himself once said that European basketball is a much bigger challenge than the NBA, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has echoed a similar sentiment. Between rules differences, higher intensity play, and more complex strategies, it creates a tougher environment for scoring that rewards teamwork over individual brilliance.
Only time will tell how this tournament ends, but EuroBasket never fails to entertain, and it’s always full of surprises. This year is no exception, and Jokic’s elimination is proof that the game is more than about which team has the best player.
