Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra revealed on Thursday that rookie Nikola Jovic has not yet completed high school and still needs to take one final exam in order to graduate.
Jovic, who turned 19 years old in June, arrived in the United States after playing the last three seasons in Serbia. He was named the ABA League Top Prospect last season before the Heat selected him with the 27th pick in the NBA draft.
He skipped his final exam to prepare for the draft and needs to pass it to graduate. He is working to finish the requirement through Zoom calls and plans to take the exam once he has some free time, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
Nikola Jovic says he has one final test to complete to graduate. Says he plans to take it when he has some “me time.” https://t.co/m8YbnIwDzg
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) October 7, 2022
The revelation by Spoelstra came after the Heat completed their second preseason game, a 109-80 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Jovic recorded 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes off of the bench.
The Heat have a veteran-heavy team with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry and others on the roster. They haven’t added many rookies recently but Jovic figures to be a big addition to the team that can step in and contribute now.
Jovic was tasked with learning a new playbook upon joining the Heat, and still must keep up with his studies. He will likely catch some grief from his teammates because of it, but it further illustrates just how talented he is to play in the NBA as, basically, a high schooler.
