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Nikola Jovic Rumors
Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points (8/24 FG) to take down Jokic and Serbia, but the hero of the day could also be called Elias Valtonen with eight straight clutch points at the end of the fourth quarter. Nikola Jokic had 33 points (9/13 FG) and eight rebounds for Serbia, but that was not enough. He and Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic combined for 53 out of Serbia's 86 points in the game.
The last two words are the most important, as Pesic elaborated: “They are the best team in offensive rebounds per tournament, 16 per game, and tonight they got 20. So it’s an opponent that we could not underestimate. We didn’t find a solution for the offensive rebounds, so we lost the game despite Finland shooting 41% and they ended up having 92 points”. Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic echoed his coach: “We didn’t come to the game ready, it starts from me as the youngest one. I was not ready from the jump. As the coach said, they got 20 offensive rebounds, which is unacceptable. We were prepared well, we watched the film, but they were more physical than us. They simply had more shots. They are more aggressive, more humble, so what else can I say?”.
Anthony Chiang: Heat's Nikola Jovic totals 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from field and 2-of-3 shooting on threes and 1 rebound in Serbia's 95-90 EuroBasket loss to Turkey today. Serbia, considered by many to be the favorite to win the tournament, finishes the group stage with a 4-1 record.
On top of that, Nikola Jovic gets to share the floor with the Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. The Heat forward admits that spending the summer with Jokic is an immense experience. "I learned a lot from him, offensively and defensively," Jovic told BasketNews. "Playing with him is just easy. He's the best player in the world. He knows what he's doing." "If you're in the right spot at the right moment, he'll find you. So it's easy to play with him. He's so smart, so talented that it's really easy to play with him," Jovic added.
Kasparas Jakucionis will be another rookie who will try to find his place in Miami. And, apparently, Jovic knows him pretty well. "I know a lot about his game," Jovic revealed. "I followed him in college because he played with my really good friend Tomislav Ivisic, and that's why I watched his game." Jovic also admitted that he was surprised to see Jakucionis dropping to the 20th pick. "I was really surprised when we drafted him because I really thought he was going to be like a Top 10 pick," he said. "But it's for sure a good pick for us. He's a great player. I haven't really talked to him, but I can't wait to see him play. And I'm sure he'll be a great piece for us."
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Ira Winderman: Nikola Jovic, in a game he suffered what appeared to be a minor hand injury, closed with 10 points on 4 of 7 in Serbia 82-60 victory over Czechia. Also six rebounds in his 22:48. Serbia already had clinched advancing to knockout round.
Jokic led the way with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Nikola Jovic with 18 points. Captain Bogdan Bogdanovic suffered an injury in the final minutes of the second quarter and did not return to the court.
Nikola Jovic, Nikola Jokic help Serbia coast to easy victory over Estonia
Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and co controlled the opener in Riga against Estonia, ultimately recording a statement 98-64 win. Three-time NBA MVP played for 23 minutes but still managed to record a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, finishing just three assists shy of a triple-double. However, it was Nikola Jovic who stole the show, as the Miami Heat forward finished with 18 points, six assists, and four rebounds, posting a team-high PIR of 26.
Nikola Jokic's agent claims official consultant position in LeBron’s Europe-based NBA competitor
However, the agent himself, who also represents big NBA names like Ivica Zubac, Goga Bitadze, Nikola Jovic, and Nikola Topic, among others, revealed on the 6.75 Range podcast that it was an informal meeting at which Bron actually had plans to create a league in Europe to compete with the NBA. "They are planning, a certain group of investors, classic business, to create a new league that would somehow also compete with the NBA," Raznatovic said. "They don't want it to be a U.S. league; they want it to have a European flavor, so to speak. And when they started working on it, everyone told them to call me." "I spoke a few times with Maverick Carter, where I got an official role as a consultant. He said it would be best to meet for lunch on a boat where LeBron would also attend. We had that meeting where we talked a lot about the new league, how it would be built and what would be done," he added.
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spent much of last week in Europe, and for good reason. Not only does the Heat have three current players preparing to take part in this year’s EuroBasket tournament, but two of those players are recent Heat draft picks who are part of the organization’s youth movement. Heat forward Simone Fontecchio will represent his home country of Italy, Heat forward Nikola Jovic is on Serbia’s roster and Heat guard Pelle Larsson is playing for Sweden, with Jovic and Larsson among the seven players on Miami’s roster who are 25 or younger. That had Spoelstra traveling through Europe last week, spending time in Stockholm to watch Larsson represent Sweden in a EuroBasket prep game against Estonia before heading to Belgrade to watch Jovic play for the Serbian national team in an exhibition against Slovenia.
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Erik Spoelstra about Nikola Jovic spending time with Serbia team: He always comes back to us more mature
“I’m really excited for Niko,” Spoelstra said during a television interview while he was in Belgrade last week, with Jovic eligible to sign an extension with the Heat this offseason. “I love it when he spends time with the national team. Every time he comes back to us, he comes back more mature. I think being around a group that knows how to win, that really cares about winning, the team is so connected also. So I think it makes a big impression on him. We’re looking forward to some great things ahead for him with us.”
In an exhibition game featuring two of the best basketball players in the world—Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic—Nikola Jovic stole the show. He finished as the leading scorer with 18 points (7/8 2PT, 1/2 3PT, 1/1 FT) and grabbed seven rebounds in 19 minutes. Jovic led Serbia to a dominant 106-72 victory over Slovenia, with his Miami Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra, watching from the stands at Belgrade Arena. "I was motivated. He's perhaps the best coach in the world," Jovic told Mozzart Sport after the game. "He traveled such a long way to see me, and I wanted to show that I can be even better next season."
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