Nikola Jovic won’t be able to fulfill his national duties for Serbia this upcoming 2022 EuroBasket tourney.
As detailed by Serbian head coach Svetislav Pesic, the Miami Heat didn’t allow the inclusion of Jovic in their national team. The club wants Jovic to remain in the United States and be prepared for the upcoming 2022-2023 season.
Aside from Jovic, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t permit Aleksej Pokusevski to join the club.
As such, even without the two, Serbia remains daunting behind the leadership and participation of reigning back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Nemanja Bjelica, and Milos Teodosic.
The country is slated in Group D with host Czech Republic, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands and Poland. The teams that will be ranked from first to fourth based from the group standings will enter the next round.
With EuroBasket set for tip-off from Sept. 1 to 18, Miami’s decision to restrict Jovic is reasonable, given that the league’s training camp will run through on the said month.
Holding championship aspirations, the Heat are very much committed to work things out and familiarize the 25th pick of the recent draft on their basketball ‘Culture.’
