A podium finish at the Olympics calls for a huge celebration! After all, only the best of the best get to flash one of those three coveted metals. All of a sudden, all that blood, sweat, and tears seem worth it. There’s a sense of pride drifting in the air, but you got to keep it steady, right? But you see, maintaining a balance in such heady moments is tricky. Both literally and figuratively.

And that’s exactly what happened to the Serbian basketball team, high off of their bronze-medal finish in Paris. As the team came down to accept their award, they looked noticeably inebriated—some even found it difficult to step on to the podium! It seems the players were looking for an escape as soon as possible after an electrifying match against the Germans.

Serbia knew that it had its game cut out for itself and the team didn’t disappoint as it toughened itself for the bronze finish. They showed that the team was still a force to reckon with even after just 40 hours had passed since their heartbreaking defeat against the USA. The star of the show turned out to be Nikola Jokic, who recorded a triple-double with the scoreboard reading 93-83 as his team got the redemption to avenge their loss in last year’s World Cup final. The 29-year-old finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists helping the team claim its first bronze in the sport since winning silver in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.

But while that’s a cause for jubilation, fans were having a field day with the drunken visuals of their favorite stars!

It was a celebration galore

“This bronze shines like gold for us,” said Vasilije Micic, who contributed the much-needed 19 points against the Germans. With this resounding win, Jokic joined the elite club of Sasha Belov of the former Soviet Union, U.S. star LeBron James (twice), and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic as the only players with Olympic triple-doubles.

However, if celebration was an Olympic sport, the Serbians could certainly clinch gold. Some fans were quick to point out on social media that “a majority of the Serbian players looked drunk”. There were still some bold ones who asserted this with greater confidence as they reposted the video while tweeting with laughing emojis, “Serbia team looks drunk and high out of their as*es getting their medals!” 

What’s even funnier was how Jokic, in particular, appeared sloppy while accepting his medal. Some social media users even reported that the star had to be held up at one point by his teammates.

Carrying the emotion forward, other voices soon joined in. Some looked quite dejected by their players’ casual behavior while up on the coveted podium, expressing their anguish in the following style: “There’s no way that the Serbia national basketball team showed up drunk for their bronze medal!”

But this isn’t the first time that the team—especially Nikola Jokic—has caused some drunk chaos. Remember when the star literally held up traffic as he caught dancing on the street while intoxicated.

Back in 2021, another video had also gone viral, which showed Jokic completely drunk on the streets of Serbia and struggling to keep himself upright.

The fans took to their tweeting prowess to vent out their disbelief, leaving us with some remarkably funny reactions pouring in from all corners. Most of the fans found it way too humorous for them to handle after an intense match to ease some of their pent-up anxiety: “Serbia drunk as hell up there (laughing emoji)“. Another fan jumped in stating: “Serbia is drunk af during this ceremony and it’s so funny!” 

There was a flurry of mixed emotions, which certainly added to the overall excitement and emotional profusion that gripped the air at the Bercy Arena stands last Saturday. But one thing is for certain, it was marked with a finishing flourish which kept the fans active on their handles till late at night. What do you think about this all-consuming celebratory mood that took quite a buzz? Do share your comments below.