Represented by three of their own in Paris, the Miami Heat Olympic players adorn the colors of Australia, Serbia, and the United States. With some highlights and career achievements, concerns and underperforming play exist for some.
Let’s get into how these players have fared so far in Paris.
Miami Heat Olympic Representation: The Good and The Bad
Miami’s Olympic Players
The Miami Heat Olympic representation has experienced some ups and downs as the Paris Games carry on in the realm of basketball. Miami released three of their own to compete in this summer’s Olympic games with their All-Pro, All-Star center Bam Adebayo, second-year Serbian player Nikola Jovic, and 14-year veteran Patty Mills. All three players are making their mark in different ways.
Bam Adebayo: Pretty, Pretty Good
If a 5x All-Defensive player can exceed expectations, Adebayo certainly has accomplished that for Team USA. Slated third at his position on the Olympic squad, Bam has played exceptionally well coming off the bench. In yesterday’s game against South Sudan, Adebayo led the team with 18 points and shot 2 of 3 from three-point range. He also pulled in seven rebounds and added two blocks.
With Joel Embiid not playing, it was up to Bam and Anthony Davis to carry the paint protection duties, and both did so exceptionally. The huge game belonged to Bam, however. His performance only further built on his already productive Olympic performance going back to the exhibition games.
Bam has been on fire from long range, which may be the most surprising aspect thus far. The Miami Heat organization and his Olympic coach, Erik Spoelstra, must be beaming about this three-point display. Surely, they will give Adebayo full permission to let it fly when the Heat begin the regular season later this year.
Nikola Jovic: Good, But Hampered
Like Mills, Nikola Jovic has started group play with a sputter. With not much to cheer about in Serbia’s loss to the United States, Jovic bounced back against Puerto Rico. Jovic went 4 of 7 for ten points, four assists, and three rebounds—a nice compliment off the bench. Serbia, led by Nikola Jokic, routed their Caribbean opponent by 41 points. The connection between Jovic and Jokic also seems to be clicking, as shown by an incredible assist from Jovic to Jokic in the Puerto Rico tilt— it was quite the feed.
After an ankle injury in June, Jovic says his ankle is feeling better by the day. However, his impact and playing time may be minimal due to his recovery and lack of game shape. Despite this, going into his second NBA season with the Heat, vaulting from rookie to Olympian is definitely a peak moment in his young career.
Patty Mills: Milestone Reached, Sputtering Play
While Mills is technically a free agent, he last played with the Heat. It’s been reported that both parties are interested in keeping the relationship together going into the 2024-25 NBA season.
Mills has always shown up for his native land of Australia in FIBA competitions and the Olympics. To drive that point home, in Australia’s first two games, Mills moved into sixth all-time in Olympic scoring, passing Manu Ginobili. Interestingly, both players have a history as teammates with the San Antonio Spurs. Now, both former Spurs members are in the Olympic history books together.
Mills has suffered a sputtering start to the group-stage games for Australia. Against Canada, a loss, and against Spain, a win. Mills opened up against Spain with 19 points in 29 minutes, delivering down the stretch to open the group stage with a win. However, the loss to Canada marked a different story for Mills. He struggled mightily on the defensive end and couldn’t knock down shots, Mills scored eight points on 2-10 shooting from the field. With one remaining game against Greece, Mills and the Boomers need a win to keep their Olympic hopes alive.
