It’s been a slow start to the 2025-26 season for Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic, who admitted his struggles are “a little more mental”.
“It’s surprising to me, especially because I felt pretty good in training camp and a little bit in pre-season,” Jovic said. “And coming into the season like that, it’s weird. It still feels weird. You feel like you’re just trying to figure out where it went sideways. Like why does it look like this? Because I’ve never played like this.
“I feel like right now, it’s a little more mental. I’m looking for shots because I’m worried that I’m not going to play as much or that I’m going to take bad shots and stuff. But yeah, I’ll be good. It’s nothing that’s going to last long. The most important thing is for us to win, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
Jovic is averaging just 8.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from beyond the arc. By comparison, he finished the 2024-25 season averaging a career-high 10.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from 3-point range.
So Jovic has seen quite a drop in his effectiveness as a shooter, especially from beyond the arc. The former first-round pick has also seen his role in head coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation diminish slightly, averaging just 20.6 minutes per game compared to 25.1 minutes per night last season. Last week he was even out of the game.
The Heat are certainly hoping that Jovic can shake off his early struggles, as they invested in him in the offseason.
Miami and Jovic agreed to a four-year, $62.4 million extension in the offseason, locking him up for the foreseeable future. It should show Jovic that the franchise believes in him, even if he has concerns about his playing time early in the 2025-26 campaign.
Even though Jovic is struggling, the Heat are off to a great start this season. Miami currently holds the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 13-7 record and has won nine of 11 games at home.
The Heat will look to build on their home record on Monday when they host the Los Angeles Clippers at the Kaseya Center. Miami already beat the Clippers in Los Angeles earlier in the 2025-26 season.