Growth from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic at center of Heat’s youth movement
The Miami Heat will need to lean on its youth more than usual this upcoming season.
With seven players on next season’s standard roster who are 25 years old or younger, the Heat has no choice but to play some of its young players. Two of those young players who will vie for a spot in the Heat’s rotation next season are forwards Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is optimistic both Jaquez, 24, and Jovic, 22, will report to training camp as improved versions of themselves.
For Jaquez, that means bouncing back from a rough second NBA season. His production dipped across the board last season after being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team in the previous season.
Jaquez, who was taken by the Heat with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2023 draft, averaged fewer points (8.6 per game last season compared to 11.9 per game the previous season) while shooting a worse percentage from the field (46.1% last season compared to 48.9% the previous season) and three-point range (31.1% last season compared to 32.2% the previous season) last regular season than the previous regular season. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals per game in 66 regular-season appearances (17 starts) in his second NBA season.
“We had some really good conversations,” Spoelstra said of Jaquez while speaking to reporters Saturday following the Heat’s summer league practice in Las Vegas. “I told him I don’t necessarily like the dialogue of you just have to get back to who you were the first half of your rookie year. Everything has got to change, right? And I’m not talking about the rotation. I’m talking about how the league will scout and figure things out extremely fast.
“So by the time we got to the second half of it, take that as a sign of respect. Because he’s a downhill guy. He really is. He’s aggressive. He’s crafty. He’s clever, when he gets into all of his spins and fake spins and putting the shoulder down. Now it’s about making the paint-decision reads when you get in there. Because he’ll improve his shooting. Everybody always does with us. But I don’t want it to be his whole game based on whether he’s making a three-point shot or not. That’s not him at his best.”
But becoming a more reliable three-point shooter is still among Jaquez’s top priorities this offseason. Not only did Jaquez shoot just 31.1% on threes this past regular season, but NBA tracking stats say that 111 of his 119 three-point attempts last regular season were either open or wide open (defender at least four feet away) with teams consistently helping off of him and daring him to take outside shots.
Becoming a better passer and decision maker when second and third defenders swarm him in the post or in the paint is also a top priority for Jaquez this offseason.
“Him at his best are these plays that are unscripted, getting downhill,” Spoelstra continued on Jaquez. “But now he has to make more complex decisions when help defenders are there. Oftentimes last year, two help defenders — guys were wide open. Making those plays. Defensively, when he’s at his best, he’s just around the ball a lot, whether that means the deflections, steals, the hustle play. Like coming up with momentum-shifting plays, that’s what defined him when he was in college. So really leaning into that.
“And other than that, he and I just talked about clearing his mind. He’s gotten a good deal of time with us, with [Heat coaches Dan Bisaccio and Rob Fodor] and working on his shooting and working on player development and working on his body. And then he’s going to spend some time in L.A. He’s got a phenomenal work ethic. He works out three times a day. He’ll play some pickup in L.A., play some 5-on-5 with those things in mind at UCLA, all that stuff. And then come back out at some point in August, clear mind, ready.”
As for Jovic, the challenge is staying healthy and carving out a consistent role in the Heat’s rotation after beginning last season as a starter, then being completely moved out of the rotation, and ultimately thriving in a sixth man role off the bench during the back half of the season.
“It’ll happen. It was already happening,” Spoelstra said Saturday of finding a role for Jovic. “He has a unique skill set. So part of his strength is making other players better. Some of it is these plays in between, unscripted, is oftentimes where he’s at his best. He also can get lost, like any player, if you’re strictly in those areas, where you can get lost in the sauce. So he can play on the ball. But we have a lot of guys that can play on the ball. So there’s going to be a balance right there.
“His growth also will continue to be the professionalism, the consistency of growth, his worth ethic, which if you compare that to where it is right now, that’s why I’m encouraged for him. If you look at where Niko was as a rookie to who he’s becoming right now, it’s night and day, the work ethic and it’s a consistency of approach every single day.”
Jovic, who was taken by the Heat with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2022 draft, averaged career highs in points (10.7 per game), assists (2.8) and minutes (25.1) last season in his third NBA season.
Jovic’s best work came after he was moved to a bench role last season. He logged double-digit minutes in 31 straight regular-season games, averaging 12 points, four rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 45.3% from the field and 37.8% on threes during that two-month span.
But an injury put an end to that impressive string of games, as Jovic broke his right hand on Feb. 23 and missed the final 27 games of last regular season. He returned to take part in the Heat’s short-lived playoff run that ended in the first round for the second straight season.
Next up for the skilled 6-foot-10 Jovic is more international experience after representing Serbia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023 and the Olympics in 2024. Jovic is expected to be on the Serbian national team for the EuroBasket 2025 tournament, which begins on Aug. 27.
“I think the last two summers have been really good because it’s been a strong balance of the Miami Heat player development program and then going to play for his national team,” Spoelstra said. “I think that has helped his maturity. It means a whole lot to that team, every player, every coaching staff, you can’t just go in there casually. So I think that has been as important as the stuff we’ve been doing. And I think this summer we have big expectations.
“The first year, he was a token starter in the World Championships and in moments of truth he wasn’t playing. Coaches will play who they think will win. Last year, he was probably the eighth or ninth or 10th man on the biggest stage. So my challenge to him was, well break into the rotation and make that Hall of Fame coach earn your trust. And it’s all with the consistency. It’s the winning things. It’s your approach. It’s no different than here. I love the fact that he’s playing for that coach, who’s very demanding. But Niko had a really good June and late May. He’s put on some strength, too. He’s just going to come back looking different. Every year, he comes back stronger, bigger. I’m excited about his improvement.”
The Heat hopes Jaquez and Jovic both return looking different and better next season.
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
