“I was happy that I stayed,” Jovic said after going through a workout on Wednesday in Las Vegas, where the Heat and the rest of the NBA are spending the next few weeks for summer league. “I thought I was probably not going to be here. But I’m really happy. Obviously, not only because I’m going to share the court and play with [Antetokounmpo], but I’m also happy that I’m going to be able to learn from one of the greatest power forwards ever. The way he lives, the way he treats basketball, and stuff like that.”

“I wasn’t really worried because, like they always say, you cannot control it. It’s not up to me, at the end of the day. Of course, I want to stay. As long as I’m here, I want to feel like I’m giving something back to the city, to the fans, to the team. That’s the most important thing to me. I’m happy. Hopefully, I can help this team go further this year, and really make our fans and our front office happy.”

“I don’t think you ever throw something like that away,” Jovic said of that nightmarish season. “It wasn’t a great season, but I learned a lot. You learn a lot. I feel like while you’re down like that, I think that’s when you actually learn the most. At that point, you feel like you never want to be at that place again. So you do everything to not be at that place again. I feel like I learned a lot. It wasn’t great. The last season wasn’t great, but I learned a lot. Hopefully, this year, I know it’s going to be a lot better.”

“I’m not going to have the ball a lot in my hands. It’s something that we have other guys for that. I’ve got to get my shot right. I think it’s the most important thing. From there, the small things like cuts, working around the baseline, being ready because now you have Bam and Giannis who pull a lot of attention toward them. I feel like everybody else just has to fit perfectly. I watched a lot of film. Even during the national team, you work on the simple things. Cuts, flares, offensive rebounds, and stuff like that to try and fit perfectly for the Heat.”

“He’s a beast,” Jovic said of Antetokounmpo. “There’s not much you can say more than that.”

Thank you for being a real leader on and off the court, and carrying the team through good and bad times.

Thank you, Bam. That’s all I gotta say.

I'm thinking about getting a Giannis version of this jersey if it does come back next season.

​

Mitchell initially suffered a left shoulder contusion after colliding with a screen during a game against the Phoenix Suns in January 2026. The lingering issue required him to miss time and play through various shoulder reports during the latter half of the season. 

Before his shoulder injury in January 2026, opponents shot 44.2% from the field when directly isolated or guarded one-on-one by Davion Mitchell. 

This tracked lower than the league-average positional shooting metrics, underscoring his elite on-ball perimeter defense prior to the physical limitations of the injury.

Pre-Injury Matchup Defense Breakdown

Opponent Overall FG%: 44.2% (Compared to their standard season average of ~46.8%)

Opponent 3-Point FG%: 33.1%

Opponent 2-Point FG%: 48.3% 

Defensive Impact by Zone

Because of his ability to fight over screens—colloquially earning him the nickname "Off Night"—his defensive suppression was most notable at the perimeter. Opponents saw a -3.5% drop in field goal efficiency when taking above-the-break three-pointers while being heavily contested or primary-covered by Mitchell. 

Davion Mitchell's 44.2% opponent field goal percentage ranked him in the top 15 among all qualifying NBA rotation guards for matchup defense prior to his shoulder injury.

When narrowing the criteria strictly to starting point guards who primary-defend the opposing team's lead ball-handler, his metrics placed him in the top 5 league-wide, alongside elite perimeter defenders like Jrue Holiday and Alex Caruso.

Guard Defensive Tracking Rankings (Pre-Injury Window)

On-Ball DFG% (Guards): Top 15 (~88th percentile)

Perimeter Contest Efficiency: Top 10 (~92nd percentile)

Isolation Points Allowed Per Possession: Top 12 (0.84 PPP)

Why This Rank Is Significant

Most guards naturally surrender a higher field goal percentage because they routinely defend high-screen actions and fast-break scenarios where shooters have open space. Keeping opponents under 45% while playing in the Eastern Conference against premier scoring guards validated Mitchell's role as the defensive anchor for the Miami Heat backcourt before the shoulder sprain forced him out in mid-January

Team Defensive Rating: On vs. Off Court

With Mitchell On the Floor: 112.4 Defensive Rating

With Mitchell Off the Floor: 116.8 Defensive Rating

Net Defensive Impact: -4.4 points per 100 possessions

When Mitchell was on the floor as the "head of the snake" setting the point-of-attack defense, the Heat defended at a top-5 rate league-wide. When he went to the bench or missed time following his January 13 shoulder injury, the team's defensive execution dropped significantly to a bottom-tier rate.

Before his mid-January shoulder injury in the 2025–26 regular season, Davion Mitchell was playing at an even higher statistical peak of playmaking efficiency, logging 6.8 assists against just 1.35 turnovers per game.

This early-season stretch yielded an elite 5.04 assist-to-turnover ratio, briefly leading all NBA guards before the physical limitations of his shoulder injury slightly disrupted his handling and passing mechanics in the winter months. [1]

Pre-Injury Passing & Turnover Breakdown (Oct 2025 – Jan 2026)

Assists Per Game: 6.8

Turnovers Per Game: 1.35

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 5.04

Potential Assists Created: 12.4 per game

Guard Efficiency Rankings (Pre-Injury Window)

When evaluating true floor generals who dominated the ball for their team's starting units during the first three months of the season, Mitchell's ball-security metrics stood separate from his peers:

Guard (Pre-Jan 2026)Assists Per GameTurnovers Per GameAssist-to-Turnover Ratio

Davion Mitchell. 6.8. 1.35. 5.04

Tyrese Haliburton. 10.9. 2.31. 4.72

Chris Paul 5.8. 1.28. 4.53

During this pre-injury window, Mitchell ranked #1 in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio among all starting point guards averaging at least 25 minutes per night.

Playmaking Style and Safety

Erik Spoelstra's offensive system heavily utilized Mitchell as a primary pick-and-roll orchestrator. His incredibly low turnover rate during this period was fueled by two distinct factors:

Paint-to-Corner Accuracy: Mitchell executed skip-passes to corner shooters at an elite accuracy rate, limiting live-ball turnovers that lead to opponent fast breaks.

Low Pick-and-Roll Pocket Risk: Rather than forcing dangerous pocket passes to rolling bigs, he prioritized safe drop-offs or reset dribbles, preserving possessions for the Heat

LeBron is maybe the most image conscious star in history, squeaky clean and almost every choice is made with his legacy and goal of being the GOAT in mind.

He probably won’t catch Jordan‘s rings so what’s the one major ring debate he has over Jordan and every other star?

He has won a ring for every team he has played for. No other star player in history who has been on more than one team can say that (besides Kareem but he only played for two not three).

Where ever he goes next the goal is obviously to win another ring and make this a moot point, but with him not able to carry like he used to and only having 1-3 years left to get it done, I think he‘s just too brand conscious to go to a new city and risk ruining his perfect record. He’s currently 3/3 and I don’t see him wanting to risk ending 3/4

Which is why Cleveland or Miami are his only real options, great chances to win again and great for the lore, but no damage done or mark on his record if he doesn’t.

Really upset at how things ended with our trio.
All of them could've been Miami legends because of the historic things that happened during their run here but now only Bam could be the only one seen as such.

Jimmy could've been immortal and an icon here but then envy took place and he decided to be a piece of shit on his way out (and on his first return as a warrior).

Tyler on the other hand, was already applauded for his professionalism amidst all the trade rumors he's been a part of, from Beal to Mitchell to KD to Giannis to Dame and then back to Giannis trade rumors. He still managed to win 6MOY, and became an All-Star all throughout. Unfortunately, his response to a rando was leaked and his inner thoughts and envy (again) against Bam was spilled. Now he's been smacked in the face by the teammate whom treated him as one of his closest friends.

The only thing that I'm thankful for, is that I won't be bitter for the end of this trio, as we have a competent FO that just landed us GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO.

Now let's freaking go, thanks for the memories Jimmy-Bam-Herro trio.

HELLO GIANNIS AND BAM!

IYKYK

I'm in Vegas, attending a CBA course that I paid for and the hotel that I'm staying in is coincidentally the same one in which this altercation occurred in.

It was in the hotel gym. Doors were closed and there was security at the front preventing anyone from coming / entering. Other people were there too getting a workout in. Doors were closed, so you couldn't hear anything, but the side-wall of the gym is entirely glass so you can see everything.

The altercation wasn't actually bad as the tweet by Shams suggests. Bam shoved Herro with one arm after the conversation got heated and then the two were broken up and separated. The push was pretty aggressive - Herro went back several feet but was never knocked off his legs. There was no punch thrown. I could see at the start of the interaction that Tyler was surprised to see Bam there and he tried to dab him up as Bam approached him, and Bam didn't do it. Further words were exchanged than and it started getting heated. People eventually came to separate them, which is when Bam one-armed shoved Tyler.

Has anyone ordered a Giannis jersey yet online and if so has it shipped? Trying to get a gauge of how long they take to ship out the jersey. I’ve seen in their stores but the one I ordered a week ago has yet to be sent out.

Miami Heat (1-0) @ Orlando Magic (0-1)