The end wasn’t ideal in one context, but a silver medal eased Nikola Jokic’s pain after he and Serbia were served a stinging defeat at the hands of the United States in the gold medal game at the Olympics.

Yet this isn’t about the team. This is a closer look at Jokic’s play, his summer evaluation. He was one of the darlings of the Olympic tournament, thrust into the world’s consciousness in one wondrous 25-point performance against the United States in round-robin play.

But high scoring games weren’t the norm for Jokic in his first experience with the senior Serbian National Team. He averaged 9.1 points, fourth on the team. But no Serbian player impacted the court in more ways, in more categories, than Jokic did.

He dished out 19 assists – with a solid 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, led the team in steals (12), blocks (5), offensive rebounds (10) and total rebounds (48). He shot 50 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 76 percent from the free throw line.

What Jokic Did. Jokic showed great willingness and energy, staying in constant motion in Serbia’s always-moving, free flowing offense. Jokic, who will go into his second year in the NBA this fall, had great footwork in doing so, particularly in the half court. As a screener, Jokic was all over the place, sprinting from block to perimeter, from the angle to the top, and on many possessions, set multiple screens, freeing up Serbia’s guards.

Because he was a willing screener, Jokic found himself the recipient of passes as a cutter, as the roll man in pick-and-roll actions, and in the post on quick seals. A combined 41 percent of his possessions were cuts and rolls in screen rolls. Another 16 percent of his possessions were post-ups, where he shot 45 percent. In many ways, Jokic was the glue that kept possessions together and kept the Serbian offense flowing.

How it Translates Back to the Nuggets. The ability to run offense through Jokic is not earth-shattering news to the Nuggets, who were already well aware of his versatility in that regard. But at least once – the narrow loss to the U.S. in the teams’ first meeting, he showed that he could do it all to a very high level. That matters most when trying to project Jokic’s potential impact and eventual ceiling in the NBA.

The question that still needs answering is: Can Jokic can produce at a high level every night? The United States was much more focused on him in the gold medal game, and held Jokic to just six points and four rebounds. Jokic took just three shots in the game as the U.S. rotated “smaller” defenders like Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant with bigger defenders like DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan.

In the end, those are the moments that will matter most. How well will Jokic operate when he is at or near the top of every teams’ scouting report? Can he put up big numbers when defenses are devised to stop him? Jokic had a very solid summer in Olympic qualifying and in the Olympics, which followed up a solid rookie season with the Nuggets. There is considerable buzz about his future, and it is well-deserved.