Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic has met with Serbian National team head coach Sasa Djordjevic and informed him he will not be playing in EuroBasket for Serbia this summer, according to multiple Serbian media outlets.

Jokic is using the offseason to better his body and get into improved physical condition as he gets ready for an important third season in Denver.

Jokic takes a great deal of pride representing his home country of Serbia and for him to miss out on EuroBasket must have been a tough pill for the 22-year-old to swallow. Jokic seems to understand the importance of improving his body and how much better he could become if he could get just a little bit quicker and more explosive.

Up until this summer, Jokic has played competitive basketball consistently for nearly two years straight and vocalized how exhausted he was after the All-Star break this past season. Hopefully, Jokic can return to Denver’s training camp in the best shape of his life.

Fernandez coaching Spain

While Jokic will sit out EuroBasket, Nuggets’ assistant coach Jordi Fernandez has accepted a position on Spain’s coaching staff for the tournament, the team announced. Fernandez will coach Nuggets’ swingman Juan Hernangomez who’s planning on representing his home country in EuroBasket which runs from Aug. 31 through Sep. 17.