With the Miami Heat in town to take on the Nuggets on Wednesday night, we get a matchup of teammates from the Serbian International Team with Nikola Jokic squaring off against Nikola Jovic. Before the matchup, Jovic, the 22-year-old Miami forward, jokingly told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald that Jokic makes fun of him for Denver’s dominance over the Heat.
He went on to say that the Joker was upset that Jovic signed an extension to stay in Miami because he wanted him to join the Nuggets. “He was mad because I signed the extension. He wanted me in Denver.”
We’ve fantasized for years about Jokic reuniting with a Serbian teammate in Denver, dreaming of Bogdan Bogdanovic or Vasilije Micic, but maybe it will come to light one day with Jovic. The Joker has a great bond with his countrymen, and Jovic explained how the two are friendly and keep in touch during the season when possible.
Heat haven’t won in Denver since 2016
According to Jovic, the reason for the trash talk between the two friends is that the Heat haven’t won in Denver since 2016. Jokic apparently teases Jovic about that, even though he was just drafted in 2022.
“He always makes fun of me because we haven’t really won a game in regular season vs them in a long time. So yeah, I got to help this team win this game because I can’t stand him talking too much trash.”
The two obviously share a bond as a couple of the only Serbian players in the NBA, and Jovic was mostly joking in this interview with the Miami Herald. But surely, he does feel some urgency to perform against the best basketball player to ever hail from Serbia.
Jovic is a promising, up-and-coming player who can do a bit of everything with an athletic, 6’10” frame. He has carved out a meaningful role with the Heat since being drafted 27th overall three years ago, but hasn’t exactly solidified himself as part of the team’s core moving forward.
He’s still raw, and there’s a chance he takes a leap this season, but there’s also a chance that he levels off as a role player. In that case, he could certainly become a target for the Nuggets in the future.
The team will have no choice but to offload some salary in the coming years, and cheap options who can plug some holes, like Jovic, may become appealing. If the Nuggets are cutting costs, they’ll be doing everything possible to keep Jokic happy. Perhaps making a move for his buddy from Serbia would be just what the doctor ordered.