Nikola Jovic ‘really happy’ to still be with Heat and looking forward to playing with Giannis
.JPG "Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) participates in his team’s season-ending exit interviews at the Kaseya Center on April 16, 2026, in Miami.")
A few weeks ago, forward Nikola Jovic wasn’t sure if he would be on the Miami Heat’s roster for the start of this upcoming season amid the team’s pursuit of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Now, Jovic is just trying to wrap his mind around the possibilities that come with being Antetokounmpo’s Heat teammate.
Instead of dealing Jovic in the Antetokounmpo deal, the Heat traded guard Tyler Herro, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakucionis, center Kel’el Ware and a haul of draft capital to the Milwaukee Bucks to acquire Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis.
“I was happy that I stayed,” Jovic said after going through a workout on Wednesday in Las Vegas, where the Heat and the rest of the NBA are spending the next few weeks for summer league. “I thought I was probably not going to be here. But I’m really happy. Obviously, not only because I’m going to share the court and play with [Antetokounmpo], but I’m also happy that I’m going to be able to learn from one of the greatest power forwards ever. The way he lives, the way he treats basketball, and stuff like that. “
Despite the speculation surrounding Jovic’s Heat future at the start of the offseason, he insists he didn’t let the outside noise affect him.
“I wasn’t really worried because, like they always say, you cannot control it,” Jovic, 23, said. “It’s not up to me, at the end of the day. Of course, I want to stay. As long as I’m here, I want to feel like I’m giving something back to the city, to the fans, to the team. That’s the most important thing to me. I’m happy. Hopefully, I can help this team go further this year, and really make our fans and our front office happy.”
To do that, Jovic will have to be much better than he was last season.
After averaging career highs in points (10.7 per game), assists (2.8) and minutes (25.1) during the 2024-25 season and then signing a four-year, $62.4 million extension with the Heat last offseason., Jovic took a big step back this past season.
Jovic, who is preparing for his fifth NBA season after being drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in 2022, averaged just 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting an inefficient 36.6% from the field and 26.9% from three-point range in 47 appearances last regular season. Among the 229 players around the NBA who took at least 160 three-point attempts last regular season, Jovic finished with the league’s second-worst three-point shooting percentage ahead of only Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (25.3%).
“I don’t think you ever throw something like that away,” Jovic said of that nightmarish season. “It wasn’t a great season, but I learned a lot. You learn a lot. I feel like while you’re down like that, I think that’s when you actually learn the most. At that point, you feel like you never want to be at that place again. So you do everything to not be at that place again. I feel like I learned a lot. It wasn’t great. The last season wasn’t great, but I learned a lot. Hopefully, this year, I know it’s going to be a lot better.”
Jovic started in the Heat’s opener last season, but didn’t start again for the rest of the season before completely falling out of the rotation in the final weeks of the schedule
After signing a four-year extension with the Heat in October, Jovic admitted that he struggled last season to find the same motivation he was playing with in the past.
“I think there was a lot of little stuff that kind of came together and kind of didn’t help me really succeed,” said Jovic, whose four-year extension kicks in this upcoming season with a $16.2 million salary. “Also, mentally, I feel like after I signed that deal, it was the first time I felt like I wasn’t really motivated. I felt like I needed something to motivate me more. After you don’t play great, there goes your motivation. You want to be great again.”
It has been an encouraging offseason so far for Jovic, who flashed his intriguing potential as a skilled 6-foot-10 forward while with the Serbian national team for the July window of European World Cup qualifying.
Jovic totaled 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, two rebounds, five assists and two blocks in Serbia’s win over the Switzerland in Switzerland on July 2. Jovic then followed that up with a 32-point performance in a victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Serbia on Monday before traveling to Las Vegas this week.
“It’s good,” Jovic said of his strong showing with the Serbian national team this summer. “I think it builds your confidence back up a little bit. Like I always say, I know how good I am. I never didn’t believe in myself. But it’s always good to look good and play good for your country. It’s good to build my confidence back up a little bit.”
All the while, Jovic is preparing for his role on the new-look Heat. He’s been focused on different ways he can make an offensive impact in an off-ball role while playing alongside Bam Adebayo and Antetokounmpo.
“I’m not going to have the ball a lot in my hands,” Jovic said. “It’s something that we have other guys for that. I’ve got to get my shot right. I think it’s the most important thing. From there, the small things like cuts, working around the baseline, being ready because now you have Bam and Giannis who pull a lot of attention toward them. I feel like everybody else just has to fit perfectly. I watched a lot of film. Even during the national team, you work on the simple things. Cuts, flares, offensive rebounds, and stuff like that to try and fit perfectly for the Heat.”
While Jovic didn’t have a prior relationship with Antetokounmpo before the trade, he has played him plenty of times in the NBA and in European competition to know what to expect from him.
“He’s a beast,” Jovic said of Antetokounmpo. “There’s not much you can say more than that.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Nikola Jovic ‘really happy’ to still be with Heat and looking forward to playing with Giannis."
