Heat pushing Nikola Jovic to become better rebounder: ‘I’m happy they’re on me for that’
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has been impressed with forward Nikola Jovic’s growth since the Heat selected him late in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. That growth was recently rewarded, as the Heat signed Jovic to a four-year, $62.4 million extension last week.
But there’s still at least one area in Jovic’s game that Spoelstra is waiting to see the necessary improvement in: rebounding.
“That’s one of the things that his head coach has been talking to him about a lot,” Spoelstra said before the Heat played its third of six preseason games on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs at Kaseya Center. “He’s improved basically everywhere except for the rebounding.
“He’s capable of rebounding much better than he has. Last year, summer and so far in training camp, it has to be a priority for him. You can see when he rebounds and he puts his mind to it.”
But for Jovic, it’s not as simple as just putting his mind to it. Even though he’s listed at 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds, there are layers to rebounding in the NBA besides size and effort.
“I don’t think it’s as simple as just go up and get it,” Jovic, 22, said. “The thing that I noticed is usually now that I’m switching, I switch onto a guard. Especially during the start of the possession. So I guarded someone like Kevin Porter for 10 possessions that game [on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks]. And when I’m on the perimeter and I’m trying to block a three-point shot, it’s hard for me to try and block a shot and come back and get a rebound.
“I know I’ll box out If I’m around the paint and my guy is next to me. It’s hard when you scramble and you’re in the paint and then people are running in. So I feel you just got to find a way to either block someone or really go up and get it. But what I’m trying to say is usually lately it’s been that I’m switching and somehow I end up on the guard and it’s hard for me to come back and get a rebound.”
Jovic averaged 2.1 rebounds per game as a rookie during the 2022-23 season, averaged 4.2 rebounds per game during the 2023-24 season and then averaged 3.9 rebounds per game last season.
But it’s the advanced metrics that show just how much rebounding has been a struggle for Jovic. According to Cleaning The Glass, he grabbed 12.5% of the available defensive rebounds when he was on the court last season, and that ranked in the 16th percentile among NBA big men.
“There’s a lot of extra layers that come to it, a responsibility,” Spoelstra said of Jovic’s rebounding. “He’s got to rebound his size, and then he’s our best bust-out guy. So that leads to great actions and flow going up the court. But he can’t be a wandering generality on the glass.”
While Jovic would love to set a new career-high in rebounds this season, he’s not measuring his success on the glass by his individual rebounding numbers.
“I just want to improve the percentage of my box outs,” said Jovic, who is entering his fourth NBA season. “That’s what I want to work on. But I really don’t have a goal. The only goal for me is team rebounding. I feel like we just got to outrebound other teams. Individual stuff, I don’t think is as important. Of course, if you want, you just look at the stats. But I think it’s just important for us to get those defensive rebounds.”
Along with upping the pace on offense, Heat coaches have made rebounding a big point of emphasis in preseason practices. While the Heat finished with the league’s fourth-best defensive rebounding percentage (the percentage of available defensive rebounds a team grabs) last regular season at 72.4% , that number dipped to 68.4% during last season’s sweep out of the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Rebounding was a big part of why we lost last year to Cleveland and why we looked the way we looked,” Jovic said.
So Heat all-time leading rebounder Udonis Haslem has been working with players such as Jovic on rebounding during practice. Haslem, 45, who retired following the 2022-23 season, is currently the Heat’s vice president of basketball development.
“I have great guys around me. I’m happy they’re on me for that,” Jovic said of Heat coaches pushing him to become a better rebounder. “Because it’s one more area where you can improve. You have guys like UD who was in here for a couple of days. I asked him a lot of questions about it. I had to box him out. I almost broke my arm a few times. But that’s how you learn. I’m thankful that I have a guy like that in this organization who can really help you develop those things.”
So, yes, Jovic’s development continues. But the growth is already clear, as he appears to be on his way to beginning this season as a Heat starter.
Jovic averaged career highs in points (10.7 per game), assists (2.8) and minutes (25.1) last regular season in his third NBA season.
“The other parts of his game have improved,” Spoelstra said. “Some of the decision-making, I like it when he’s getting off the ball early. I like it when he’s putting his head down and attacking the paint with aggressiveness. Usually good things happen.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat remains without Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery), Davion Mitchell (calf soreness), Terry Rozier (strained left hamstring) and Simone Fontecchio (left lower leg tightness) for Wednesday’s exhibition against the Spurs.
But Pelle Larsson (left quad contusion) and Kasparas Jakucionis (sprained left wrist) are expected to be available on Wednesday after missing the Heat’s first two preseason games.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
