Nikola Jovic: I’m going to ‘show the coaches I can play.’

Finding, developing, nurturing and maximizing talent in a talent-laden NBA is far easier said than done.

One organization that’s perfected the practice is the Miami Heat, who have mass-produced myriad success stories with undrafted players and previously underdeveloped talent looking for new homes.

Even through the draft, the Heat have knocked it out of the park over the last decade with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, who were drafted No. 14 and 13, respectively. Even though it might be premature, you can throw Jaime Jaquez Jr.–the Heat’s 18th pick in the 2023 draft–into that mix; after all, he’s a facsimile of (super)star wing Jimmy Butler, averaging 16.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists on 50.2/34.9/85.9 shooting splits over his last 20 games.

But its 2022 draft pick Nikola Jovic, who entered the league as a 19-year-old point forward encountering a completely new role, has required a little more patience in terms of his development.

“When I first came in, I thought it would be easy. I was a young kid who had some crazy moments,” Jovic recently told Sam Yip of HoopsHype. “I feel confident. I feel great on the court, I’m just waiting for the opportunity. You can’t rush through things. I’m sure it’ll come soon too, so I’m going to see where I’m at, help the team, show the coaches I can play.”

Jovic, who’s played in 23 career games over two years, added 20 pounds of muscle from his rookie to sophomore season and has continued to develop on both ends–particularly the defensive end of the floor. He’s a much better help defender and doesn’t look like a minus in isolation against opposing wings.

Offensively, while he’s a developing spot-up threat, Jovic is one of the team’s top ballhandlers and playmakers, especially in the open floor. The 20-year-old is averaging 6.1 points and 4.5 rebounds on 53.1 percent shooting, including 9-of-17 (52.1) from 3-point range with nine stocks (blocks plus steals).

In his third start of the season (in place of Haywood Highsmith) Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jovic scored a season-high 15 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting–including 3-of-5 from deep–holding his own defensively against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Los Angeles’ other wings at the bottom of Miami’s 2-3 zone.

“As long as I’m in practices, as long as I’m developing, I feel like you can do good in both ways,” he said. “Even if I’m not playing, I’m developing more. If I play, I probably wouldn’t be able to practice as much, but now I’m developing things I’m going to be great at.

“It’s a tough league to play. People want to get a standard contract and two-ways. Everybody is fighting for a contract. You can learn a lot of things. First of all, the most important one is learn how to win games. That’s definitely good for me, developing, winning games, playing some good defense … I still don’t know which position I can be. That’s why I work on everything. I want to be an all-around player. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

The Heat rotation is quite crowded but has been one of the most injured in the entire NBA. As long as Jovic can continue to take advantage of the opportunity provided to him, the sky is limitless for the 6-foot-10, multi-faceted big.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently spoke regarding the patience of Jovic’s development and why it’s important to get plenty of game reps, whether it’s with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami’s G-League affiliate) or with the NBA club.

“[Nikola Jovic] has been getting a lot better behind the scenes,” he said. “He’s 20-years old. His head coach has seen progress. If he’s not playing, that doesn’t mean he’s not making progress or that we’re giving up on him. We’re developing him … he’s been preparing and all these experiences have been really good for him.”

“He’s 20-years old. His head coach has seen progress. If he’s not playing, that doesn’t mean he’s not making progress or that we’re giving up on him.”

Wise words from Erik Spoelstra on Nikola Jovic.#HEATCulturepic.twitter.com/0V6NgZ9OhW

— Matt Hanifan (@mph_824_) December 29, 2023

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