The NBA put a stop to players jumping straight from high school to the NBA, but it seems at least one international player found a workaround — Miami Heat rookie Nikola Jovic has yet to graduate high school.
That much has been known all season, ever since team head coach Erik Spoelstra said in training camp that Jovic skipped his final exams to prepare for the NBA draft. Spoelstra confirmed in March that Jovic has yet to graduate. The 19-year-old planned to finish his courses over Zoom, but instead must return to Europe to take his finals, according to Sun-Sentinel reporter Ira Winderman, which means he has not had a chance to complete them.
With that in mind — Jovic has made the NBA Finals before graduating high school, as Playbook Sports pointed out on Twitter:
Nikola Jovic made the NBA Finals before graduating high school 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/TNgmBZSUON
— Playbook Sports (@PlaybookSN) May 30, 2023
When was the last time this happened? Surely it must have at some point in league history, potentially multiple times, but the NBA states that players must be at least one year removed from the graduating class; however, there is an exception for international players. Therefore, Jovic is not breaking any rules.
It would make sense for Jovic to return to Europe over the summer and finish, but he’s kind of busy right now — maybe he’ll be able to don an NBA championship ring with his cap and gown while everyone else is wearing class rings.