Miami Heat’s Nikola Jovic’ Likely To Miss Paris Olympics Due To Ankle Injury

It is likely Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic is going to miss the Olympic Games in Paris later this month.

The Heat organization can only hope Jovic does not miss any time during training camp or the NBA regular season.

Jovic appeared at the Serbian training camp wearing an orthopedic boot on his foot. The possibility of missing the Olympics was first reported by EuroHoops.net. They are reporting he is suffering from a fracture of the ankle joint he sustained in June.

Jovic remained at home while the national team traveled to the Olympic city for a Friday exhibition game with host France. Serbia won 79-67.

Jovic is also expected to miss upcoming exhibition games next week against the United States and Australia in Abu Dhabi. He was expected to start in the front court for Serbia along with Nikola Jokic.

Jovic played in 46 regular season games and averaged 7.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. He played in only four of the first 30 contests for the Heat to start the season. He would eventually play himself into the rotation and ultimately become the starter at power forward.

“It means a lot,” Jovic said during the season of being named a starter in only his second NBA season. “I’m happy they gave me me a chance. I worked hard for it.”

The 6-foot-10 Jovic also played in all five playoff games against the Boston Celtics and averaged 9.4 points and 6.6 rebounds.

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at scottsalomon67@gmail.com.

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