Two players who project to be important parts of the Miami Heat’s future are set to participate in the upcoming EuroBasket tournament. Specifically, big man Nikola Jovic — whom the Heat selected late in the opening round of the 2022 NBA Draft — will suit up for Serbia, while youngster Pelle Larsson will play for his home country of Sweden.
According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, the Heat are hoping that Jovic and Larsson will return from the tournament as “better versions” of themselves.
“The Heat is hoping this year’s EuroBasket experience will help Jovic and Larsson return as better versions of themselves this upcoming season, with the start of NBA training camps only five weeks away,” Chiang wrote.
Larsson is hoping to take a leap in his sophomore season at the highest level after he gradually found his footing in the NBA last season. He didn’t get off to the strongest start to his pro career, but in four regular-season games played in the month of April, he averaged 8.5 points on 38.5 percent shooting from 3-point range to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Miami acquired the draft rights to Larsson in a trade after the Houston Rockets used a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on him.
As for Jovic, he should use the time at EuroBasket to work on his body and improve his availability ahead of his fourth season in the big leagues. Jovic is a proven NBA big man, but he’s also been limited to just 107 games played across his opening three seasons in the league.
Plus, in the 2024-25 season, he was limited to just 46 of the Heat’s 82 games. He has never played more than 46 contests in a single NBA campaign.
A new and improved Jovic and Larsson heading into the 2025-26 campaign could aid the Heat quite a bit in their perennial goal to compete for a championship. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra recently opened up about the team’s title aspirations even though Miami is fresh off just a 37-win season.
With any luck, Jovic and Larsson will come back from EuroBasket as more complete players as the Heat are hoping. Fans should be excited to see how they will fare in the 2025-26 campaign when it starts up in October.