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Everybody Loves Niko: Jovic with a burgeoning fan club in Heat locker room

ira winderman, south florida sun-sentinel
·4 min read

MIAMI — Yes, there already has been a knockoff of “Everybody Loves Raymond” in Serbia. So perhaps it is only fair there is a quid pro quo version currently playing out in the Miami Heat locker room.

Because at the moment, it is hard to find anyone in the confines of the players’ sanctum that doesn’t love Nikola Jovic.

Affable, agreeable and authentic, the 20-year-old forward taken out of Serbia with the No. 27 pick in the 2022 NBA draft has become quite the talking point among teammates at Kaseya Center.

“I love Niko,” guard Tyler Herro said amid this four-game homestand, with a Wednesday night game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Kaseya Center. “I told Niko, I’m starting a Nikola Jovic fan club led by Tyler Herro.

“I just love the way he plays. He’s so skilled. I really think he’s really, really good. So I’m excited for him to get out there and continuing to build on the minutes and opportunities he’s getting.”

No, Jovic said, no fan club here, there, or anywhere that he’s aware of.

“He’s just bullsh—ing, that’s it,” Jovic said with a smile of Herro’s planning. “Oh, my bad. I shouldn’t have said that.”

It is that innocence, combined with a skillset that prioritizes team play, that has endeared Jovic to teammates.

“Niko is special in his own way,” center Bam Adebayo said. “He can dribble, he can shoot, he can pass, he’s 6-10 and he’s 20.”

For most of Jovic’s two Heat seasons, it has been about working in the shadows, including time in the G League or while dealing with last season’s back injury.

But with the ongoing injuries of Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and others, the opportunities have presented themselves, moments, as limited as they have been, that Jovic has seized.

“You just love to see, the more comfortable he gets, the more minutes he gets, he’s only going to continue to get better,” forward Kevin Love said. “And I know that he’s a locker room favorite. He’s a fan favorite. But I think again it’s just being out there with us, getting his feet on the floor, seeing more minutes. He’s worked for those opportunities.”

All while remaining attentive to any and all input.

“I mean, Jimmy, Bam, Kyle (Lowry), Tyler, those are the guys that are the main guys on the team,” Jovic said. “And if they help me, I’m going to feel great. They took me under their wings.”

As the Heat’s injuries dissipate, the playing time well could evaporate. So for now, he’s seizing what is offered.

“The one thing is defense is the most important thing if I want to stay on the court and to play,” he said. “I need to play good defense.”

While also continuing to hit the weight room.

“I mean,” he said, “that’s probably the biggest focus I have, that and rebounding, especially the defensive rebounds and just staying solid on defense. Those things are going to keep me on the court.”

All with the encouragement but also firm coaching of developmental assistant Dan Bisaccio.

As for the notion of a Nikola Jovic Fan Club, Jovic smiled.

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“I don’t think so,” he said. “I don’t know. But I’m happy to see people actually enjoying my game. It gets me going, especially seeing young kids. I’ve had a couple of them wearing my jersey. So it just makes me happy.

“I actually had one kid in Utah, which I never expected I would see that. Here I see them a lot. But around the league, you don’t see a lot of them. You will see a lot of Jimmy Butler jerseys, but not Jovic. And I see one and it just makes me happy.”

So, yes, seemingly everybody loves Niko.

But just as much, seemingly Niko loves everyone.

“We have a great locker room, great guys, great people,” he said. “And that’s it. They are making me better, and that’s the most important thing.”