The 2025-26 NBA season was one to forget for Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic. Jovic took big strides in the 2024-25 campaign, but instead of building on that, he regressed. The youngster cut a frustrated figure at times, and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is hoping he tackles this offseason the way Jaime Jaquez Jr. did the last one.
In Spoelstra’s exit interview on Thursday, he pointed to Jaquez being a great example for Jovic and sent a strong message to the Serb.
“I think that’s a great parallel, a great comparison for Niko,” Spoelstra said. “Because, as frustrated as he seemed this year, and it felt like just had a string of bad luck, that’s exactly what was happening to Jaime last year. I mean, every couple of weeks, Jaime was dealing with something that was putting him out of the rotation, in terms of injuries, the stomach issues that he had.
“And then by the time he came back, he hadn’t had enough games that he was totally out of rhythm and then lost some confidence,” Spoelstra stated. “That was Jaime, that was his season last year. And then Jaime, to his credit, did not make an excuse for anything. He just took it all on his shoulders, and he just said I need to be better. I’m going to work on getting healthy, getting my body right first and foremost. And then I’m going to work on the specific skill set that I need that will help this team.
“So he came in in great shape,” Spoelstra continued. “… It was his intention just to go in and not blame anything, just get to work, and I think that’s Niko’s objective this offseason, to not have a victim mindset about it, to not blame anything. Just get to work and improve the things that he needs to improve. Take it on his shoulders, and he’ll be just fine.
“His skill set and his size and all the things that he brings to the table, that’s not lost on any of us,” Spoelstra added. “He just needs to get out there, take the responsibility, be ready for camp next year, and be ready to reach the potential that he has as a basketball player. What he does fits.”
Jaquez had finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024, but then took a huge step back as a sophomore. He was written off after that, but responded in style in 2025-26. Jaquez averaged 15.4 points on 50.7% shooting from the field and was one of the Heat’s better players.
The hope is that Jovic will bounce back similarly. The 22-year-old averaged just 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, while shooting 36.6% from the field and 26.9% from beyond the arc. To say he was inefficient would be an understatement.
Jaquez had also worked with a mental coach last offseason, and perhaps Jovic, who only played in 47 games, could do the same this time around. He was asked during his exit interview about looking to the 25-year-old for inspiration, but brought up a former teammate instead.
“I would say I look at more at Duncan [Robinson],” Jovic said. “I think Duncan is someone who already told me about this and went through similar stuff, where at one point you feel like you’re good enough for the team to help, and then all of a sudden you’re end of the bench, and you feel like you’re never going to see the floor again, and it’s so ups and downs.
“Just the way the Heat is, I guess,” Jovic continued. “You got to be good on every night for them to continue playing you, and like I said, in minutes I have, I got to be perfect to get consistent minutes, and if I don’t, I’m just going to be at the end of the bench, I guess.”
That probably isn’t what Spoelstra would have wanted to hear. The Heat are reportedly going to try to acquire a star in the summer, and Jovic, the 27th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, certainly didn’t make himself untouchable in trade talks with his performances. We might have already seen him play his last game for the franchise.
