No matter how you look at it, Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic is injured, and for a player vital to the team’s next steps, that’s bad news. However, there have been wildly varying reports on the severity of Jovic’s ankle injury, with seasoned Heat reporters refuting claims from Serbia about a broken ankle.
Jovic initially sustained the injury during a workout with the Heat at the Kaseya Center in Miami last month. Alarm bells rang when photos surfaced showing him in a walking boot. Since then, he hasn’t been able to train with his home country, Serbia, ahead of the Paris Olympics, and he missed the team’s first warm-up game against France last Friday.
According to Meridian Sport (via NBC Sports), Jovic has a fractured ankle that will sideline him for the entire Olympics, potentially causing him to miss the start of the NBA season as well. However, the Heat disputed this through the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “Despite reports from European media outlets that forward Nikola Jovic has a fractured ankle and will miss the Olympics for Serbia, the Miami Heat’s medical staff is defining that injury as a sprain, as well as a metatarsal fracture, with no formal Heat determination yet on Jovic’s Olympic status,” wrote Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
Nikola Jovic a Key Member of Serbia Olympics Team
Jovic is a crucial member of the Serbian team that won a silver medal at the 2023 World Cup and is favored to medal again in Paris. If he is unable to play for Serbia, the final decision rests with the national team, not the Heat. However, the Heat has yet to clear him to participate in Serbia’s practices and games.
As the Miami Herald reported: “Jovic has not yet been medically cleared by the Heat to take part in the Olympics, which begin later this month. While the Heat has not yet ruled out the possibility of clearing Jovic ahead of the Olympics, according to a league source, Serbia’s national federation will make the formal decision on his status for the competition even if he’s cleared by the Heat.” The report also noted that the Heat expects Jovic to be “ready and available” for the start of training camp on October 1.
Heat Looking for a Breakout Year
Jovic aims to play in the Olympics and used his strong performance in the World Cup (10.1 points, 56.6% shooting) as a springboard for last season. The Heat have brought the 21-year-old along slowly, but over the last 14 games of 2023-24, Jovic averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 23.7 minutes.
He had five games where he played 30 minutes or more, excelling in those games: 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 53.6% shooting, and 50.0% 3-point shooting. Jovic has demonstrated he deserves a bigger role. In total, he averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 46 games, shooting 39.9% from the 3-point line.
As the Heat consider potential roster changes for next season, Jovic remains a crucial piece. If Miami pursues a major trade for another star player, it’s almost certain that Jovic would be a key part of any deal. Regardless, Jovic having a breakout year in 2024-25 is vital to the Heat’s improvement if no trade occurs. Either way, they need his ankle to heal quickly.