Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic “is progressing in his recovery from a sprained left ankle/fractured toe,” according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang.
The 21-year-old sustained his injuries in June during an on-court drill.
Heat’s Nikola Jović Gets Injury Update Ahead of Paris Olympics
Miami “expects Jovic to be ready and available for the start of training camp on Oct. 1,” Chiang adds. There also remains a possibility that Jovic will be healthy enough to play in the Paris Olympics, per the Heat (h/t the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman).
Per Heat: Nikola Jovic is progressing in his rehab and there still is the possibility he will be able to play in the Olympics. Jovic remains listed on the Serbia roster for the Paris Games. He was listed as spraining his ankle during a workout at Kaseya Center.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 20, 2024
Not only is he still on Serbia’s roster, he played in an exhibition against Rui Hachimura and Japan over the weekend.
Nikola Jovic is back in action today for Serbia in an Olympic warmup game, playing alongside Nikola Jokic. So that sprained ankle, as the Heat stressed amid outside rumors, proved to be as short term as the Heat said from the outset.https://t.co/l6wiNb5y5H
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 21, 2024
Serbia, led by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, will be in Group C for the Paris Olympics. There, they’ll face the star-laden United States, emergent South Sudan and fiery Puerto Rico.
Team USA are currently the favorites to win the gold medal. However, after their pre-Olympic exhibitions, it’s clear they have much work to do. Though they went 3-0, their first unit has been out-of-sync and their perimeter defense has been largely unimpressive. Should the Serbian contingent of Jokic, Jovic, and Bogdan Bogdanovic catch fire, they could upset USA Basketball.
What’s Next For Nikola Jovic?
In 2023-24, Jovic had his best season yet. Starting in 38 of the 48 games he played in, the 2022 No. 27 pick averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game. He also shot a sizzling 39.9 percent from 3. Factoring in his growth as an on-ball defender as well, he’s become a prototypical stretch-four for the Heat.
Next season, Jovic is presumably set to start again, likely alongside Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo. However, it’s also possible that he comes off of the bench. Looking to enhance their size down low, Miami selected 7-foot-0 center Kel’el Ware with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Ware has excelled in Summer League, demonstrating his potential as a shot-blocker, floor-spacer, finisher, and rebounder. With Adebayo playing the bulk of his minutes beside Anthony Davis on Team USA, it adds credence to the belief that Ware could start next season.
