Nikola Jovic: 6'11" 223 lbs

Nikola Jovic is an oversized wing who you can tell by seeing his silky smooth array of moves that he has been the guy for a long time. He has good touch and creation ability unlike most players of his height. The combination of creativity and the height plus shooting touch, shooting 36% in U19 and 34% in the Adriatic league makes Jovic an interesting prospect as a supersized wing but I believe it to be more likely that Jovic plays the stretch 4 role in the NBA and is a beneficiary of being the recipient of catch and shoot 3's. He has fallen since the beginning of the Draft cycle due to a poor start in the Adriatic league and displaying no improvement on defense. I worry there is no position he can guard well, making him somewhat of a specialist unless a team has the unique personnel to hide him or his offense becomes even better and he is must play on that end.

Strengths:

• Crazy array of moves for a man of his size on the perimeter.

• Great outlet passer.

• Impressive shooting touch and should shoot even better as non-primary option.

• Great ball-handling and passing feel so could be a rebound and go threat.

• Athletic enough to finish above the rim.

Concerns:

• Who does he defend in the NBA?

• Rarely stays in front of the ball in a subpar league.

• Not strong enough to bang down low, nor quick enough to laterally stay with wings.

Nikola Jovic not dominating offensively dropped his stock as there were going to be defensive concerns and the way to mitigate defensive issues is to be invaluable on offense. Jovic may be unplayable on defense so his best chance is to be selected to a team he could space the floor for a dominant force with a plethora of wing defenders. Unfortunately for him, there are not too many of those in the NBA. I envision a role similar to Gallinari or Bertans for Jovic.

The Rundown:

The first international prospect off of the board, so I will go over this essential tidbit here. Just because an international prospect is getting bad stats and low minutes, that does not mean that they are destined for failure in the NBA. Overseas, players are played within an exclusively win now, competitive mindset and lens. The players that do play a lot and play well tend to be destined for success, but the lack of playing time doesn’t equate to a lack of success (lack of tantalizing stats also doesn’t equate to guaranteed success, why hello Yannick Nsoza!). The international prospects claim to fame tends to be flashes, or glimpses of success, because we aren’t permitted to see the full picture. Flashes might as well be Jovic’s middle name. Contrary to what you expected I WILL NOT be making a joke about how his first and last name sound rather similar to a certain NBA star, so ha, lets get into it.

Offensively he is a slot machine, spun on every new possession. The jackpot is the culmination of his shooting touch, size, passing vision, and aggressiveness. He is obviously well learned at “The Jayson Tatum School of Difficult Shot Making”, with a wide variety of difficult fades, leaners, and size ups in his repertoire. Able to gain separation on step backs, his advanced handle, and other moves of the sort at 6’10 (but maybe looks even taller) is at the root of his appeal. He doesn’t need to be on the ball offensively to use his shooting, being a more than adept catch and shoot player. His shooting percentages are not currently up to par, but based on other indicators I believe it will translate. He also has a bit of Roko Prkacin in him, attacking the rim with a frankly scary viciousness, when he isn’t settling that is. Nikolas' playmaking chops are also intriguing. He doesn’t have rebound and run potential, he is legitimately good at it RIGHT NOW. He sees the floor from a unique viewpoint, as a huge wing who can monitor the movement of the game from a higher ground. He seems to love making the difficult pass, he derives great pleasure from making his way to the paint and producing the awe of the crowd. His accuracy is spectacular, every pass in the book is available to him, and I am decisively buying his pick and roll ball handler potential (maybe roller as well, he is very good at knowing where to be on offense).

Defensively, the bag is even more mixed. He doesn’t always feel the need to stay in a stance, it is obviously below ball-watching on his list of priorities. His recovery abilities are actually very impressive (he needs them, his offball defense (and offense while we’re on it) needs work), using his exceptional wingspan (looks like a solid +3 or 4 inches) and timing to make up space. I actually really like his secondary rim protection potential, he has the eyes to block shots but not quite the body to be a 5. At the end of the day, being 6’10, smart, and long it ends up being hard to be bad on defense. I hope so for his sake, because at the moment he is a bit of a matador. Being a wing with primary option equity and great passing is really all you need to know when scouting Jovic, it makes it pretty easy to look past the bad.

Synopsis:

Jovic is a difficult shot making maestro, and finds great joy in making difficult passes, which happens rather often. His pick and roll potential at 6’10 makes up for the strong negative he currently displays on defense.

Shades of:

Hedo Turkelo, a splash of Tatum, and a good helping of Toni Kukoc

I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a big Jovic believer. However, his game is a perfect archetype for the modern NBA. He has a big body, but plays like a guard. He has excellent court vision that he uses to find open cutters. He has some wiggle in his game and can work his way through traffic. He attacks closeouts as he drives to the hoop. He has a nice drive and kick game that he uses to dish to shooters. He projects as a nice secondary ball handler with his on ball skills. He tears apart defenses and has good vertical pop. He is very good at creating mismatches in the paint. Negatively, he has shot horribly this season. His form is there, but his shot just hasn’t fallen. He is very confident in his game, which is a double edged sword. At times he looks like he is taking over the game with his swagger. At other times, he takes questionable shot after questionable shot. He is also relatively slow, which is a tiny bit concerning for a player of his type. NBA players are so athletic and well conditioned in this era, that he might have a hard time keeping up. However, he might be able to thrive as a Slo-Mo kind of player. Jovic is a noteworthy defender who gets in the way. Nonetheless, he can lose his patience. With time and proper development, he can become an excellent player. He has shown that he can become a point-forward, with spot up shooting, as well as good cutting and self creation. The good still doesn’t outweigh the bad for me, but he certainly has upside.

Comparison: Nikola Jokic Lite (? Lazy, I know)

Projected Draft Range: 20-45

Height 6'10

Weight 210 lbs

Wingspan 7'1

DOB 6/9/03 (Draft Age: 19)

Pre-Draft Team KK Mega Mozzart

Offense

• Working on shooting consistency. Stroke looks good. Release is high when it's right.

• Shot creation skills have potential.

• Could be an outstanding playmaker. Really fun to watch pass.

• Finishes really well around the cup. Attacks closeouts.

• Guard like ability and special offensive potential.

• Good athlete with a high IQ.

• Needs to limit his turnovers a little better.

Defense

• Uses his length well to contest shots around the rim and close out.

• Will bite on pump fakes.

• Defensive footwork and fundamentals need to be cleaned up to maximize his defensive potential.

• Opens his hips too often instead of sliding. Limited foot speed, but has the length so again his footwork fundamentals become pivotal.

Swing Factors

Role

• LOW:

• HIGH:

Ranking Scale:

Athleticism: 4/8

3pt shot: 4/10

Finishing: 6/10

Handle: 7/10

Playmaking: 7/8

Defensive Versatility: 5/10

Defensive Positioning: 3/8

Rebounding: 3/6

NBA Fit: 8/10

Total Score: 47/80

Quite risky pick but one of the higher potential players after the top 5 I think. Pretty good 3 point shooter and playmaker. One of the younger players in the class so a lot of room to grow. Could become a shot creator if things go well. He's not a good defender and doesn't have the quickness to improve a lot so that limits him a bit as an NBA wing/forward.

Best fits: Cleveland, Minnesota, San Antonio

Player analysis

Nikola Jovic is a fascinating 6’11 playmaker who shines as an energetic player on offense, he gets riled up and has a lot of confidence in himself and his game. Jovic can be a showoff at times by trying to do too much on the court but he is still a positive team player who gets teammates involved. Jovic is a good shooter and has the shot creating intangibility needed to be a star player on offense but he is a lazy defender and he often doesn’t put any effort on defensive plays, Nikola has the size to be a good player on defense but has lacked inspiration to play on that side of the court which will limit his ability to be used heavily early in his NBA career. Jovic has great court vision and made many flashy passes that are incredibly impressive for a 6’11 wing player, he does lead to a few too many turnovers but with better options and more motivation to play in a system I feel like he will get better. Nikola loves to hit difficult shots on the outside but it obviously isn’t the best decision most of the time and leads to sloppy play. Jovic can shoot very well especially for a 6’11 player but he needs to learn how to score in different ways. When driving to the basket he does get bullied because of his lean frame, similar to many of his skills he needs to go to the NBA to get higher level conditioning. Nikola does have the ability to be a star in the league but he needs to become more coachable and needs to be drafted into a rigorous and hardworking system.

Projection

Draft range: [ 14 - 26 ]

Comp: [ Hedo Terkoglu (better passer) ]

Strengths: Shot creation, play making, shooting Weaknesses: Athleticism and defense

High Side Comp: AK47/Danilo Gallinari Low Side Comp: Sam Dekker/Mario Hezonja

Ideal Fit: Secondary Scorer and Ball Handler

Draft Range: 9-30

Result: 27-MIA

My Thoughts: Jovic is an enticing prospect who’s still relatively young and inexperienced with lots of room to grow. I was impressed by his playmaking skill at his size. His shot is money and he has a very quick release. This combination should give him a decent floor as a rotation wing in the league. If his defense and athleticism can improve as he matures he can be a great player on both sides. I love the intensity he plays with. His ceiling is high as guys with his size and playmaking and shooting ability are rare. If he can be drafted by a team with wing defenders to help take pressure off of him I can see him flourishing. His spot up shooting and quick release should make him an instant rotation guy for any team with upside of a nice 2nd option and lead forward.

Athleticism: 6/10 Size: 4/5 Defense: 4/10 Strength: 3/5 Quickness: 6/10 Creation: 4/5 Jumpshot: 9/10 Finishing: 4/5 NBA Ready: 4/5 Ball Handling: 7/10 Passing: 7/10 Intangibles: 4/5 Potential: 8/10 TOTAL: 70= Mid Lottery

Intriguing prospect to say the least.

Jovic can shoot, run the floor, handle the ball, pass, score, drive, create his own shot, and plays with high motor. He has also shows a nice feel for the game.

He would be an underrated pickup for whatever team needs a do-it-all type of versatile wing.

Jovic is not a great athlete, but his lateral quickness and agility is not that poor for a large 6'10" wing. He is also positionless and can play a multitude of roles in the NBA.

He can excel as a classic point forward who also adds value as a scorer or shooter as well.

NBA Comparison: Toni Kukoč / Danilo Gallinari hybrid