The story behind the undrafted players behind the Miami Heat’s unlikely run to the NBA Finals.
Heat Culture. These two words are the motto behind the Miami Heat and who they are. Summed up by Heat veteran and captain Udonis Haslem:
"“Heat Culture is discipline, accountability, work ethic and enjoying somebody else’s success.”"
This mindset has the team employing nine undrafted players, with seven of them being listed as active for the playoffs. More so, the starting lineup usually consists of 2-3 of those players in point guard Gabe Vincent, shooting guard Max Strus, and forward Caleb Martin.
Here is the story of how many of them became part of the rotation and how they got to the Heat.
Gabe Vincent
Kicking off the list of the stories behind these players is Gabe Vincent. Following a successful college career playing for the University of California, Santa Barbara, Vincent played for the Stockton Kings in the G-League after going undrafted in 2018. After two years playing for the Kings where Vincent averaged 23.4 points per game on 47% from the field and 41% from deep in his second season, the Heat signed him to a two-way contract.
From there, he balled out for the Heat’s G-League affiliate Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging 20.9 points per game on efficient 46% shooting and 92% from the stripe and he was ultimately rewarded with the G-League Most Improved Player Award.
From there, Vincent slowly grew his way into playing time for the Heat. After showing glimpses in the 2020-21 season where he averaged 4.8 points per game in only 13 minutes of game time, head coach Erik Spoelstra asserted Vincent as one of the primary ballhandlers, playing in 68 games in the 2021-22 season, and started 27 of them as well as playing 23.4 minutes per game.
His play with the Nigerian national team also garnered national attention when they upset the heavily-favored Team USA. Vincent led all scorers with 21 points, including six threes.
However, it’s from this 2022-23 postseason run that has grabbed everyone’s attention to Vincent. He has bumped up his numbers from the regular season, averaging four more points and 1.5 more assists. Whenever the Heat need offense, he’s been their go-to guy, especially given the injuries to Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo. A big reason why the Heat have been able to keep up their unforeseen postseason run, he has been rumored to be a potential target by the Lakers and may be up for a big payday.
Averaging 21 points on 57/56/100 shooting splits in the first two games of the Finals, he is also pushing his case to win Finals MVP should the Heat win.