Heat’s first-round pick Nikola Jovic brings ‘unique size, unique skills’

The story of the draft-night marriage between Serbian big man Nikola Jovic and the Miami Heat is one of being smitten at first sight.

For the Heat, it was catching the skilled 6-foot-11, 223-pound big man at last summer’s Under-19 World Cup in Latvia. There, Jovic was named to the All-Tournament team along with Chet Holmgren and Jaden Ivey — as in the Nos. 1, 5 picks, respectively in Thursday’s NBA draft.

“He obviously was really good there,” Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon said Friday of Jovic, who the Heat drafted at No. 27 Thursday night. “He was really impressive for a kid who’s maturing his body.”

For Jovic, all it took was a similar first impression, when he attended the Heat’s Game 5 blowout victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers during the Eastern Conference finals in May.

“The atmosphere there,” Jovic said, “was crazy. The first impression was great.”

That’s not to say instant attraction will lead to instant success, considering Jovic turned 19 on June 9, making him one of the Heat’s youngest-ever players.

“Physically, he’s mature in his body,” said Simon, who leads the Heat’s draft scouting. “You can see it from the last two years. He’s got good, strong shoulders and he’s going to grow into it more.”

COVID concerns kept Simon and his immediate staff from the Under-19 World Cup. But what the Heat’s European scout saw was enough to keep the international lines open.

“He was a priority guy to see this year, and we all took turns going over there to see him,” Simon said. “He’s been on our radar.”

There were ample twists and turns along the way. The Heat got to see Jovic during the Chicago pre-draft camp in a May workout session run by his agency, but there was no workout at FTX Arena.

“He was scheduled to,” Simon said, “but he got hurt.”

For a team in win-now mode, Jovic’s timeline might not quite mesh at the moment.

“The whole draft is full of developmental players, they’re so young,” Simon said. “He’s advanced in that sense. But any player that comes in the NBA needs development. So we’ll see.

“He can handle – 6-10-plus that can handle. He’s got that skill set. He sees the game. He can pass. He can find guys. Sometimes he gets excited, but I think he can learn from that. But at least he has the ability to make plays. We like that about him, for someone his size to be able to handle like that.

“And then the shooting, wherever he shoots, he shoots confidently. There’s never any hesitation. He’s really good off the catch.”

The knock on such skilled lithe European prospects, from Kristaps Porzingis to Aleksej Pokusevski, has been on the defensive end.

But in that regard, Jovic might prove to be a legitimate Heat fit.

“I think the kid is athletic enough and quick enough and long enough to be able to play defense the way we want,” Heat President Pat Riley said. “The way we play, we’re switching all the time, we’re sort of this positionless basketball. He has the ability to do those things. That’s how we see him.”

When it comes to how Jovic sees himself in the NBA, it’s as a young player who has spent years playing professionally in Europe against competition older, stronger than what is faced by collegians.

“I played against grown men. I think that’s what helped me the most. It was really tough there,” said Jovic, who was born in Leicester, England, where he spent his first nine years.

“If I get in a game right now, I’m sure I can help the team – my passing, vision. What a lot of people don’t see is I improved on defense. I’m a big guard who can switch on everything. Things that can translate immediately are my shot, my passing skills and basketball IQ.”

It ultimately proved tempting enough for the Heat to pass on the likes of Kentucky guard TyTy Washington, Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell, Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams and Tennessee guard Kennedy Chandler, who were all still available at 27.

“We just think this kid is a burgeoning talent that you couldn’t pass up at 27 from that standpoint,” Riley said. “There were other guys on the board that we liked, but I also think that they were duplicates of what we had. So this is a very unique player. Unique size, unique skills.”