As fans finalize their record predictions for the Miami Heat, one of the more anticipated performances from a player this season has to be the young star in Nikola Jovic. As Heat stars like Duncan Robinson prepare for a bounce back year, Jovic will look to improve in the system and be a mainstay in the team’s young core heading into training camp to start in October.

Before anything though, Jovic has to fully recover from an injury sustained after the end of last season where during a workout in Miami, suffered from an issues to his left foot and ankle. Even with those, Jovic played for Team Serbia in this past summer’s Paris Olympics where he earned a bronze medal as he said those injuries “slowed down” the process of what he “wanted to do this summer” according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

“I would say, the ankle injury was really kind of — I wouldn’t say a big setback for me — but it for sure slowed down the things that I really wanted to do this summer,” Jovic said.

Heat’s Nikola Jovic on experience in the Olympics

Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) during a game against the Utah Jazz at Kaseya Center.
Peter Joneleit-Imagn Images

With the medal win for Serbia, Jovic became the sixth person in Heat history to win a medal in the Olympics and even the second this summer where Bam Adebayo won gold with Team USA. Talking about his experience in Paris, France, Jovic called it “unbelievable” as it was his second time with the team after competing in the FIBA World Cup in 2023 where he won the silver medal.

“It was unbelievable,” Jovic. “It’s just my second year playing for the national team, but those guys have been with the national team for a minute now. … We got the bronze medal, which is something really important for us and our country.”

Jovic would give a “great” update regarding his injuries after the run in the Olympics which should please fans as the 21-year old looks to have his best season yet in 2024. Last season, Jovic averaged 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 22.2 minutes per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 39 percent from the three-point line.

It was a gradual change in involvement for Jovic as while the start of the season did not have much in store, it was not until the halfway point where the star saw a promotion to the starting lineup. He would be slotted into the four spot alongside Adebayo in the front court to give Miami some size and spacing.

Jovic has also been improving on defense which has always been a forte for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and of players in his lineup. In terms of his offense, he improved also with his shooting where after being inserted in the starting lineup, he was shooting 39.2 percent on 3.9 catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per game per The Miami Herald.

Heat’s Nikola Jovic pinpoints one aspect he’s been improving on

There has been improvement every season ever since Jovic was drafted with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft coming out of Serbia. However, Jovic would say that he was working on this summer with his play in the post, especially when he has a mismatch due to his size.

“I would say the thing I was working on the most was probably just when I have a mismatch in the low post,” Jovic said per Chiang. “When I have small guys on me, I just have to punish them, and that’s something that’s going to help our team a lot. So I would say that was the main thing for me other than still being able to spread the floor and everything. Being able to punish every mismatch is really important part of the game for me and that’s what I was working on. Trying to do as much as I can to be better for the start of the season.”

Heat and Nikola Jovic being cautious with injuries

Looking back at the injuries, Jovic said earlier that he is almost fully healthy and ready to go for the start of training camp which happens in the start of October. If there is anything to be celebrated, it is that the Heat and Jovic are doing everything in their power to be cautious with their approach of the injury where even the 21-year old said that if there is a potential setback, “I’ll probably need to step away.”

“We’re making sure that my foot is good after every practice because the injury I had is of course not a joke and we really don’t want any new problems with it,” Jovic said earlier. “So during training camp, I wouldn’t say I’m going to sit down or anything but of course you just want to make sure that everything is good. If something starts hurting by any chance, I’ll probably need to step away. But I don’t think that will be the case and I’m really looking forward to being 100 percent and just giving everything that I have.”

At any rate, the team is ramping up for the start of the season even with the Heat still adding to their roster with the newest addition of Nassir Little. Miami will have media day on Monday, Sept. 30 where the first day of training camp will be Oct. 1 in the Bahamas in preparation for the regular season opener against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 23.

The Heat open the preseason on Tuesday, Oct. 8 against the Charlotte Hornets.