Heat coach Erik Spoelstra visited Europe last week to watch some of his players in exhibition games prior to the EuroBasket tournament.
That didn’t go unnoticed by forward Nikola Jovic, as Spoelstra went to Belgrade to watch Jovic play for the Serbian national team in an exhibition against Slovenia.
“I was definitely motivated [by Spoelstra watching], he’s one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best,” Jovic said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “He went the extra mile to come see me, I definitely wanted to show that I’ve improved and that I’ll be even better next season.”
Spoelstra believes Jovic will benefit from the experience.
“I love it when he spends time with the national team. Every time he comes back to us, he comes back more mature,” he said in a TV interview. “I think being around a group that knows how to win, that really cares about winning, the team is so connected also. So I think it makes a big impression on him. We’re looking forward to some great things ahead for him with us.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Skal Labissiere‘s NBA G League rights were acquired by the Capital City G0-Go from the Stockton Kings in a four-team swap, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. That clears the way for Labissiere to join the Wizards affiliate if he’s waived during training camp. Washington signed the veteran big man to a training camp deal earlier this month. Labissiere, 29, has appeared in 152 NBA games after getting drafted late in the first round in 2016. He was out of the league for four seasons until he appeared in four games with the Kings last season.
- Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly says he’ll miss big man Richaun Holmes, who signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos, the 2024 EuroLeague champions. The unrestricted free agent played 48 games with the Wizards over the past two seasons. “I love him, I love Rich. He’s probably the hardest player I’ve played with,” he told Giorgos Kyriakidis of Basketnews.com. “I’d love to be with him on the court. I think he’s going to fit well with this team. So, good luck to him.”
- ICYMI, the Magic signed Colin Castleton to a training camp contract. Get the details here.