Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic (5) is guarded by Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade (32) during the second half of a game on Nov. 10, 2025, at Kaseya Center in Miami. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
This season has not gone as planned for Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic.
Following an encouraging third NBA season and a productive offseason in last year’s EuroBasket tournament as a member of the Serbian national team, Jovic was rewarded by the Heat with a four-year, $62.4 million contract in October.
But Jovic’s fourth NBA season hasn’t met expectations, with the latest setback coming in the form of a nagging back injury. Jovic will miss his fifth consecutive game due to what the team is listing as “lower back injury management) when the Heat hosts the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday at Kaseya Center (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun).
“My back doesn’t feel good,” Jovic, 22, said Saturday while sitting in front of his locker at Kaseya Center. “The scan shows I got some inflammation, and one of my nerves doesn’t look great right now.”
Jovic received an injection last week to reduce the inflammation in his back and alleviate the pain, but he notes that “it still feels a little weird.”
As a 19-year-old, Jovic also missed a large chunk of his rookie NBA season in 2022-23 because of a lower back stress reaction. But he doesn’t believe this latest back issue is connected to the back injury from three years ago.
“I was concerned, but I don’t think it’s the same thing,” Jovic said. “The way my back is structured, I just have to manage the way I prepare for stuff and the way I get ready for games, practice and everything. I have to make sure it’s always ready for any kind of intensity I put it under.”
The good news for Jovic is he has been told that his back injury doesn’t involve any disks, which keep the spine stable and allow for movement.
“My disks are great and I think that’s the most important thing,” Jovic added. “As the doctor said before, my bones were not strong enough for the load I had. I guess I was really young before to have all that load. Right now, my back is kind of firing up, and I got some inflammation in a few parts. That’s what’s bothering me.”
With Jovic entering the NBA as a 19-year-old and spending the last three offseasons playing for the Serbian national team, he believes all that basketball has caught up to him. He also has put on a significant amount of weight since being drafted by the Heat with the 27th overall pick in 2022.
“I think a little bit of everything,” said Jovic, who has yet to play in more than 46 games during a regular season throughout his NBA career. “I did a lot of stuff at a young age. I kind of never stopped, especially with the national team and stuff like that. I never really had a chance to strengthen my back and strengthen around it. It is what it is. I just hope these injections help and I hope I’ll get back on the court soon.”
With only six weeks left in the regular season, Jovic doesn’t have much time to come back and prove he deserves a consistent spot in the Heat’s rotation.
Jovic averaged career highs in points (10.7 per game), assists (2.8) and minutes (25.1) while shooting 45.6% from the field and 37.1% on threes last season. But Jovic’s production is down across the board this season.
Jovic is averaging just 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting an inefficient 37% from the field and 27.2% from three-point range in 45 appearances this season. Among the 186 players around the NBA who entered Monday with at least 160 three-point attempts this season, Jovic holds the worst three-point shooting percentage.
“I think we’ll be able to manage it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said regarding Jovic’s latest back injury.
Jovic admitted Saturday that he initially tried to play through his current back issue, “but it just kept getting worse.”
“I felt like this was the moment where I haven’t played a lot, and it just kept getting worse even though I didn’t play,” said Jovic, who has seen his role in the Heat’s rotation shrink as the season has gone on. “I just had to stop because when it bothers you outside of basketball and starts bothering you in doing regular stuff in life, it’s where I feel like that’s where the decision came to. I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
After signing an extension that keeps him under contract with the Heat through the 2029-30 season, Jovic remains an important part of the Heat’s young core despite his recent struggles. But right now, the goal is simply to get Jovic feeling healthy enough to play again.
“At the moment, for me to help this team, I have to feel good first,” Jovic emphasized. “I think it’s as simple as that.”