NBA big men Jonas Valanciunas, Alperen Sengün, and Lauri Markkanen also imposed their will, lifting Lithuania, Turkey, and Finland to opening-day wins.
FIBA EuroBasket 2025 kicked off with Serbia dazzling, Germany bulldozing, and Portugal pulling off a win 18 years in the making.
Nikola Jokic fell three assists short of a triple-double as the reigning Olympic bronze medalists dismantled Estonia, 98-64, in their Group A opener.
The three-time MVP finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, while Nikola Jovic led Serbia with 18 points in just 16 minutes.
Head coach Svetislav Pesic’s squad also tallied 32 assists, tied for the second-most in EuroBasket history, as they gun for back-to-back wins with Latvia up next.
Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder scored 21 points as reigning world champion Germany rolled past Montenegro 106-76 in Group B play.
Franz Wagner added 22 points to lead the Germans, who relied on a dominant 33-12 third quarter to pull away. Andreas Obst contributed 18 points as Germany looks to start 2-0 when they face Sweden next.
Portugal made the biggest noise in the opening day following a 62-50 upset of world no. 19 Czechia, marking the country’s first EuroBasket win since 2007.
Neemias Queta led the way with 23 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks, becoming the first player in tournament history to record at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a EuroBasket debut.
Turkey also made a statement after cruising to a 93-73 victory over co-host Latvia. Alperen Sengun posted 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Cedi Osman and Kenan Sipahi combined for 39 points in the rout.
In other Group B action, Jonas Valanciunas moved into fourth place on the all-time EuroBasket rebounding list as Lithuania defeated Great Britain, 94-70.
The Denver Nuggets center finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, passing Spain’s Marc Gasol and trailing only France’s Boris Diaw (314) for third all-time.
"If we don’t get the win, the individual records mean nothing. But it’s nice to overtake Marc, and hopefully I can keep climbing," Valanciunas said.
Finally, Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points as co-host Finland edged Sweden 93-90. Edon Maxhuni added 15, while Sasu Salin contributed 11 points and seven assists. The Finns join Germany (1-0) and Lithuania (1-0) atop Group B.