“I remember the play and what the shot looked like, but I’ve never watched it again,” Marko Gudurić says about the missed three-pointer in the 2023 World Cup final.
It’s one of the subjects we discuss in Part II of our extended interview – which games he would like to play again, and which outcomes he would change if he could.
Gudurić sees it differently.
In keeping with the way he looks at life, he wouldn’t change anything.
Not even that shot.
In Part I, Gudurić talked about growing up, the sacrifices his parents made, becoming a father, Dejan Radonjić, Šarūnas Jasikevičius and much more.
His relationship with faith and how it has grown stronger in recent years.
The book about Saint Sava that changed his perspective.
Watching Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz for Olympic gold from the stands in Paris.
Why playing for Peppe Poeta felt unusual at first.
What comes after basketball.
Enjoy.
“We’re More Than Teammates. We’re Brothers”
Over the last few years, you’ve said a few times, “I might have to skip next summer. I’ve got some physical issues, injuries…” And yet somehow you’re always back with the national team. What keeps bringing you back?
I missed one of the windows during the season, and then this one in July as well, so I used that time to recover a little.
I just enjoy being here.
Being together, spending time with the guys, being part of the team, the atmosphere… Of course, we had that with the national team before as well, but now my generation has come of age and become the core of the national team.
Kari [Svetislav Pešić] found a way to bring all of that together and…
What’s his magic?
He’s magic himself.
He has that instinct and charisma. He knows exactly what’s needed, when it’s needed and how to deliver it.
He knows when to joke around, when to be close to the players and when to be strict.
That’s exactly what this generation responded to.
I think we’ve all matured, first and foremost as people. Somehow everything came together – families, kids… And then everything we’ve been through over the years, all the time we’ve spent together, the successes and the failures.
Now it’s genuinely a joy to be here.
It’s not a cliché when we say we’re more than teammates. We’re genuinely friends. Brothers.
We spend time together away from the court, too. It’s not just when we’re together at the hotel with the national team. We see each other outside of that environment as well.
So where are the best get-togethers these days?
With the families.
The kids, our wives… Breakfast, lunch.
The party days are over. Maybe if there’s something to celebrate – a christening, a new baby, something like that. Those are the occasions when we’ll have a proper celebration.
Otherwise, everything is much more low-key these days.
What matters is the people you’re with.
From Đorđević and Pešić to Alimpijević
How difficult is it to adjust to every new coach, especially a national-team coach, when you have so much less time to work together? You’ve played under three Serbia head coaches now, right?
Yes. I wasn’t there with Igor [Kokoškov]. I missed that summer.
So Saša Đorđević, Kari and now Dule [Alimpijević].
That gets easier with age, too.
When you’re younger, it’s harder because you don’t really know where you stand yet, who you are as a player or what your role is. You’re still trying to figure yourself out.
You might have one role at one club and a completely different one somewhere else.
At least that’s how it was for me.
I was still figuring out where I fit, too – point guard, shooting guard, small forward, this role, that role…
Now it’s much easier.
I’ve played against Dule a lot in Turkey over the last three or four years.
So he’s had plenty of time to study you.
We’ve played each other many times.
I know his system and his philosophy, and he knows me. So I don’t think either of us had much trouble adjusting to each other this time.
“Like Someone Else Was Playing for Me”
When you get to the biggest moments of the biggest games – a EuroLeague final, a World Cup final – how aware are you of everything happening around you? Are you operating mostly on instinct?
There have been a few moments in my career when it felt like I wasn’t even there. Almost as if somebody else was playing instead of me. Like someone else was guiding me.
But most of the time, you’re completely in the moment and you’re not thinking about anything else.
The pressure and all the things people talk about… I genuinely don’t think about them. At least that’s been my experience.
I’m just trying to execute whatever we talked about during the timeout or whatever the game plan was going into the game. You get used to playing those kinds of games.
There’s always some stress and pressure beforehand – How am I going to play? What’s the game going to be like?
But after so many years, it doesn’t affect you the same way. At least that’s how it is for me now.
Of course, there’s always a little bit of that feeling. Even Novak [Đoković] talks about it. After all those years, all those trophies and everything he’s accomplished, it’s natural to still have that feeling before a match or a game.
And that’s a good thing.
I’ve always played better the bigger the game. There’s a different feeling before those games. Your focus is sharper. You need that.
But once the game starts, it disappears pretty quickly. As soon as you get the ball in your hands and feel it, all of that goes away.
“I Wouldn’t Change Anything”
You’ve had some huge wins and some painful losses in your career. If you could play one game again just to relive the good feelings, which one would it be? And on the other side, which game would you replay if you could change something – make a shot, change the outcome?
I wouldn’t change anything.
Nothing at all?
Nothing, honestly. Deep down, I believe everything happened the way it was supposed to happen.
But if I absolutely had to answer… When it comes to the happy moments, it’s difficult to pick just one.
Maybe the Under-20 European Championship final when we won the title. I still remember that feeling. That was the first moment when I realized my career might actually turn into something serious. That title was the culmination of everything for that generation. It was a really special moment, and one I still remember clearly.
Manila, definitely. The semifinal against Canada. That was another one.
And the Olympics – the game against Germany when we won bronze.
“I Don’t Have Any Desire to Watch It”
And if you could change the outcome of one game? One immediately comes to mind, but…
It does, yeah.
The USA game, and Germany the year before. Those are the two that are freshest in my mind.
But again, all of that happened for a reason – for us to grow and, ultimately, for our own good.
So it’s all OK.
Do you ever watch that shot against Germany? It was a good shot.
Yeah, it was.
I remember the play and what the shot looked like, but I’ve never watched it again.
It’s just another shot out of the thousands, millions, that every one of us has taken in our lives. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t – and both will happen again.
So no, I’ve genuinely never watched that shot again, and I don’t really have any desire to.
You don’t? Sorry for bringing it up now, ha-ha.
Not at all. Come on. It’s all good, really.
It was hard. It was hardest for me and my teammates, and then, of course, for my family, for all of you, for all of us…
But that’s life.
You can’t change it. You move forward and keep working.
I just pray to God that we get another opportunity like that – to be fighting for a medal at the World Cup, EuroBasket or the Olympics.
Those are the important things – to always be there, to fight, to keep trying, and then whatever happens, happens.
“I Try to Deepen My Relationship With God”
One thing that’s been present throughout our conversation from the very beginning is how important faith is to you, especially in recent years. How has that relationship evolved over time?
It has.
It’s something I’ve always carried with me. Or at least I thought I did – and to some extent, I really did.
But things changed even more after the Olympics, maybe two or three years ago.
I try, as much as I can, to deepen my relationship with God and my faith.
It feels right for me.
Did that happen naturally, or was there someone who influenced you?
I’ve always believed in God and prayed. But honestly, as for how it started…
I read a book about Saint Sava and realized that I, someone who calls himself Serbian, had no real idea who Saint Sava was or what he had done for us, for our church and our country.
That’s where it started.
I cross myself and say that I’m Serbian, that I’m Orthodox Christian, and yet I didn’t know who Saint Sava was.
I mean, I knew what 97 percent of us probably know – we celebrate Saint Sava’s Day in schools, but we don’t really know anything deeper than that.
That was a wake-up call for me.
Thank God, little by little, I started reading more and more. And that’s the direction I’m continuing in.
That’s part of maturing, too – you’re constantly learning, developing and improving yourself.
You mentioned that book. Were there any other books or movies that inspired you – not necessarily in terms of faith, but perhaps in sports as well?
Over the last three years, it’s mostly been spiritual literature.
I very rarely watch movies or TV shows anymore. I’ve started reading much more, and right now that’s pretty much all I read.
Is there another book you would single out?
There are many, but I wouldn’t go too deeply into that now.
Maybe the most important thing is to look at yourself in the mirror and spend some time with your own thoughts, which is something we often avoid.
These days, we spend so much time focusing on other people and judging others instead of looking at ourselves, our own thoughts and our own feelings.
I think maybe the most important thing is for each of us to look inward from time to time, to work on ourselves instead of constantly focusing on everyone else.
I think we’d all be much better off for it.
“As Long as the Desire Is Still There”
How do you see your basketball future? How long do you think you’ll keep playing?
In keeping with what we’ve been talking about, I leave it all to God. Whatever God’s will is. You never know. I don’t really have any plans. If I’m healthy, I’d like to play for as long as I still have the desire to do it. And I can feel that the desire is still there.
You feel it here in practice – the competition, going at each other… Last year was challenging. I wasn’t really healthy, I was struggling, so I did have moments when I started thinking about it. But now, thank God, I’m doing well and I hope it stays that way. Then we’ll see.
Novak is an example for all of us. Across sports now, we’re seeing more and more athletes still competing at 38, 39, 40, 41, 42. Technology has advanced a lot, and so have the recovery methods available to us. So we’ll see. Whatever God’s will is.
The Day We Rushed to See Novak
You mentioned Novak – the only tennis match you’ve ever watched live was the Olympic final?
That’s right. And he won gold! I think I need to go watch him again so he can win his 25th Grand Slam.
What was that experience like?
Oh, that’s a story… The whole thing was completely spontaneous. We were moving from Lille to Paris because we’d played the group stage in Lille. We were on the bus on the day of the final and started going back and forth: Are we going? Are we not? Can we find tickets?
I remember Aleksa, Dobrić, Vasa Micić and I were sitting together, searching for tickets on the bus. Milutinov was with his brother. Petrušev, I think, was with his father. A friend of ours in Paris sent us a resale site, and we managed to buy tickets.
By the time we got to the hotel in Paris, it was already around 1:30, and the match was starting at around three. Traffic was a nightmare. The Netflix crew that was filming a documentary with us had a van with a special pass. There was a dedicated highway lane for athletes, so thanks to them, we managed to get there.
I think it was 1-1 in the first set when we walked in. We’d made it just in time, and the seats were great. It was something special. Definitely a moment I’ll remember for a long time.
What are you like as a fan? Now you know what it’s like for us when we’re watching you guys.
Honestly, being a fan is the hardest thing. It’s much easier when you’re playing because you can actually influence what’s happening. When you’re watching, you can’t do anything – and yet you think you know everything.
So you start commenting: “Why didn’t you come to the net? Why the slice now?” But it was fine… Novak couldn’t hear any of it anyway. We were pretty calm. We weren’t cheering too much, just every now and then.
The One Goal Still Missing
We’ve talked about Novak… Before you go to sleep, do you ever visualize some of the big moments you still want to experience in your career?
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but much less than I used to. I have less time now, and I don’t sleep much, so whenever I get the chance, I try to actually sleep.
I’ve won a lot of trophies and medals and achieved the goals I had as a kid. Of course, the desire to win gold with the national team is still there. That’s something I’d love to do.
But I can’t say I spend much time visualizing or manifesting things anymore. I trust God more now and just want to stay healthy. Whatever happens, happens.
“I’m Definitely Not Going to Be a Coach”
And when your playing career is over, do you see yourself staying in basketball?
I don’t have an answer. I’m not even sure I’d want to stay in basketball.
Definitely not coaching. Maybe I’d like to stay close to the game in some capacity, but we’ll see.
The most important thing for me is not to do something that would require me to spend a lot of time away from my family. I’ve had more than enough of that over the course of my career. I’d like to stay close to my family and spend that time with them.
I’d also like to give my wife the space to pursue her own goals and career, if that’s what she wants, and be there to support her. As for me, we’ll see…
“I Miss the EuroLeague Playoffs”
There’s still plenty of basketball ahead of you before that. What do you expect from next season with Olimpia Milano?
I like the way the team looks and the plan we have. I think the way we want to play should suit me better.
Looking at the players we’ve brought in, I think there’ll be more ball movement and we’ll play more as a team. This time, the coach is there from day one. Last year, everything changed in the middle of the season when Messina left. Now Peppe Poeta has the opportunity to put his system in place from the start.
We know each other, I know my teammates, and I think we can have a good season. Last year, things didn’t go the way we wanted in the EuroLeague, but we won three trophies in Italy. It was the first treble in Olimpia’s history.
I’d love to get back to the EuroLeague playoffs. I miss the playoffs.
“I Wasn’t Used to That Kind of Freedom”
What suits you most about Poeta’s system?
Poeta is very good. He’s what you’d call a players’ coach. He gives his players a lot of freedom, allows them to make mistakes and is very easy to talk to.
Personally, I’m not used to that. I’ve told him that, and I’ve talked about it with other people and with friends as well. I’m just used to our mentality and those kind of old-school coaches. To be honest, it felt a little strange to me last year.
I think it’ll be better this year because I know what I’m walking into. I’m a year older, more experienced, and I have a much better idea of what to expect. That freedom he gives his players on the court is definitely a big part of who he is as a coach.