The Miami Heat have a big offseason ahead, but let’s still review what happened this season! To continue with our Miami Heat player review series, we delve into 6-foot-10 wing Nikola Jovic!
Past Player Reviews:
- Bam Adebayo
- Simone Fontecchio
- Myron Gardner
- Tyler Herro
- Kasparas Jakucionis
- Jaime Jaquez Jr.
- Keshad Johnson
Brief Overview:
2025-26 stats (47 games):
- 7.3 PPG
- 3.3 RPG
- 2.2 APG
- 36.6 FG%
- 43.8 eFG%
- 48.0 TS%
It was a bad season for Jovic — very bad. Marred by more injury and inconsistency, he had career lows across the board. His defense took another jump, but his poor offense negated any growth elsewhere. Jovic only played in 47 games after signing a brand-new four-year extension, where he did nothing to justify his worth, even though it originally looked like a bargain.
Let’s examine his poor season a little further, shall we?!
Numbers to note:
26.9 – 3-point shooting percentage
Perhaps the most damning statistic from Jovic’s disappointing season was his 3-point shooting. He shot just 26.9 percent from 3-point range on 3.6 attempts; over his first three seasons, he was a 37.0 percent shooter on 3.8 attempts. He took north of 53 percent of his attempts from deep with career lows in effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage.
Mechanically, he needs to work on his shot release. His low release, paired with abnormal upper body mechanics, hinders his ability to create arc, cratering his efficiency. I’m guessing his shooting will be a critical part of his offseason, which he must improve to not only justify his new contract, but also be a consistent rotation player.
47 – Games Played
At the time of his extension, the only real concern to me was his availability — or lack thereof. He’s never played more than 47 games in a single season in four years. That’s a red flag if I’ve ever seen one. That trend cannot continue moving forward.
0.82 – points allowed in isolation defensively
If there’s one area of growth that Jovic has experienced, it’s defensively, specifically in space. And the numbers back that up. In isolation (one-on-one), Jovic surrendered only 0.82 points per possession — the second-best mark on the team, behind only Andrew Wiggins (0.81). He finished in the 73rd percentile in isolation defense, allowing players to shoot just 34.8 percent from the floor with a 38.0 effective field goal percentage, according to NBA.com’s Synergy tracking data.
Best Game?
Jovic’s best was, unequivocally, his 29-point performance against the Portland Trail Blazers. Unfortunately, it was one of only a few encouraging performances offensively from him this season. But he shot 10-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, adding nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block across 31 minutes.
What’s next?
For Jovic, it’s back to the drawing board.
His brand new four-year, $62.4 million extension kicks in next season. He’s currently under the poison pill, so it makes hard to trade him before the new year. His value is at an all-time low, so he’s not a very attractive asset to begin with. The 21-year-old will account for 9.8 percent of the cap next year at $16.2 million, followed by 8.6, 8.3 and 8.5 percent over the next four years, respectively.
He’s still young, but he had the worst season that anyone would have been able to script. For him, he’ll have to develop a fresh new mindset and continue to find ways to adapt to the Heat’s new offense while being impactful defensively.
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- 2025-26 Miami Heat Player Review: Nikola Jovic
- 2025-26 Miami Heat Player Review: Keshad Johnson
- 2025-26 Miami Heat Player Review: Jaime Jaquez Jr.
- Why Heat should target this under-the-radar free agent wing
- 2025-26 Miami Heat Player Review: Kasparas Jakucionis
- Heat to participate in 2026 California Classic Summer League event
- 3 potential trade partners for this Heat guard
Hmmm, I suspected there may be a few comments on this thread.
Jovic…the bait for Jokic. We’ll see.
According to Spotrac Jovic’s trade restriction expires July 1. Jovic as salary matching in a Giannis trade would be ideal but Miami would probably have to include more assets (my guess).
Jovic’s defense 1 v 1 not being bad was a good sign – thought he looked good guarding on perimeter, but not good in help defense – and he has good positional size. Thought his body language all year was bad and his comments blaming the offense and coaching for his lack of playing time stood out.
Team has a bleak future because of not wanting to tank. I can’t name one team in the east that Mia will be better than next year
Brooklyn, Washington, Chicago, Milwaukee
Maybe the Washington Generals. Maybe.
“Running it back” hasn’t worked. “Small Ball” hasn’t worked. “Run & Gun” offense hasn’t worked (without incorporating a strong pick & roll/dribble drive half-court offense as well).
The Heat went 0-13 against the Celtics, Raptors, and Magic this season. All 3 were just eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, That should tell us all we need to know about how far Miami needs to go to become competitive again. A little tweaking won’t cut it. I think the Arisons, Riley Spo and all know it. The fans sure seem to.
Good point. We can only watch from the sidelines sadly.
Follwing are excerpts from YARDBARKER article May 4, 2026 entitled:
Heat’s Pat Riley hints at bigger role for young guys, keeps door open to trading pick
As Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald noted, Riley circled back more than once to the idea that Heat coach Eric Spoesltra may need to loosen the reins a bit with younger players. Not bench them at the first mistake. Not expect them to be finished products right now. “Even if it costs you during the regular season, you got to play it through their bad times,” Riley said. “They’re not the top five picks in the draft.”
The Heat have tried to thread the needle between development and winning for years, but this sounded like a nudge toward patience, even if it comes with some bumps along the way.
At the same time, Riley didn’t exactly shut the door on going star hunting. He acknowledged the team’s lottery pick, projected around No. 13, could be in play if the right deal presents itself. The key qualifier was just as telling.
He made it clear he’s not interested in taking on what he called “damaged goods.”
So there it is. Develop the young guys more freely. Stay ready to strike if a real difference-maker becomes available. Same Heat philosophy, just said a little louder this time.
NOTE: Riley “not interested in taking on damaged goods” sounds like it eliminates players with injury histories, such as Ja Morant, Kahwi Leonard and Tyler Herro.
Giannis not yet damaged goods? Or just playing it maybe
Pathetic. The most overpaid NBA player in history based on production. Has only proven he is not a NBA caliber player in any way, shape or form. Another horrible decision by Heat to extend his contract with no basis that will haunt Heat for the length of contract. Has negative trade value currently…but does carry a negative victim type attitude into the off season. Hope I’m wrong…but how did this guy impersonate a basketball player for so long?
Everyone deserves another chance. 2025-2026 was bad in general for the Heat, considering the team didn’t make the playoffs.
Even though I’ve been critical of Jovic, I still think he has potential to turn into a good rotation player. He needs to get his head together, before he can ever get his game together. One way for him to get both together is if he could be mentored by Denver’s Nikola Jokic. They played well together for Serbia last summer.
I proposed a trade of Herro, Jovic and a pick for Jamal Murray yesterday. If Jovic can show some sign of coming out of his funk, I can see that trade happening at some point in the not-too-distant future.
If Jovic can fully recover from his bad year, the way Jaquez did, I can see him being able to earn his contract salary if he stays with the team. The Heat sure could use him if he gets his mojo back.
2026-2027 MIP 😉
Anything is possible. I hope for his sake and Miami’s that he overcomes his current funk and gets his mojo back. If not, we may be looking back at Uncans contract as a stroke of genius in comparison.