Haywood Highsmith’s unlikely path to becoming one of Miami’s ‘hidden gems’
DENVER — When Philadelphia brought Haywood Highsmith up for his first NBA stint in January 2019, he was locker neighbors with another relatively new 76ers player: Jimmy Butler, whom the team had acquired two months earlier. Highsmith instantly noticed Butler’s competitive fire, and he asked his All-Star teammate about his workout routine and offseason approach.
“Me and Jimmy go way back,” he says.
Fast-forward four years, and they’re teammates on a No. 8-seed Heat team that has clawed its way to the NBA Finals. Highsmith still remembers the lessons Butler imparted to him in Philadelphia.
“Working out twice a day, three times a day, which he would do sometimes,” he says. “Also understanding your body, not pushing it too far where you’re feeling not the best. Maintaining good diet as well.”
That helped him maximize his talent and become what he is now: a capable role player who dropped 18 points in a finals game. Miami fell 104-93 in Game 1 on Thursday, but the 6-foot-5 forward’s play was a bright spot for the team.
“He spaced the floor incredibly well,” Butler said as teammate Gabe Vincent nodded in agreement. “He had some timely cuts, some stops, some hustle plays. That’s what made his mark in this league, and he’s continuing to do it, even in the finals.”
Highsmith’s responsibility has fluctuated throughout the playoffs. After cutting him from the rotation the first four games of the Eastern Conference final, coach Erik Spoelstra used him in two of the final three games against Boston. He contributed in Game 7, playing more than nine minutes as Kevin Love sat. Highsmith described it as a cool experience: As a kid, he dreamed of playing in Game 7s.
Now, as one of Miami’s better players in the team’s Game 1 loss, he could be a consistent presence in the finals. His performance encapsulated what Spoelstra wants out of his players.
“That’s what we need from everybody, regardless of when you come into the game, how many minutes you’re getting: those inspiring minutes,” the coach said. “(Highsmith) has kept himself ready, and those are good minutes.”
And the pressure of the stage doesn’t faze him.
“I’ve been working at this my whole life,” the 26-year-old said after Game 1. “I’m built for this.”
Not everyone with Highsmith’s career path would have been able to maintain that mindset. He didn’t receive Division I offers in high school and ended up playing at Wheeling University, a Division II school in West Virginia. Then, early in his professional career, Philadelphia waived him twice, and he spent a season playing in Germany before rejoining the 76ers in 2021. The team waived him a third time before the season began, so he once again had to rejoin Philadelphia’s G League club, the Delaware Blue Coats.
The Heat took a chance on Highsmith midway through the 2021-22 season, bringing him in from Delaware on a 10-day contract. He signed two more 10-day deals before Miami signed him to a three-year contract in March 2022. Now he’s one of seven undrafted players on Miami’s finals roster. One of the others, veteran leader Udonis Haslem, says Highsmith embodies hard work, which is the bedrock of “Heat Culture.”
“(The Heat) see something in us that nobody else saw in us as undrafted guys, kind of like hidden gems,” Highsmith says. “They believe in us, and they do a great job with developing us and taking us up under their wing and just making us be the best players we can be.”
“You look at a guy like Highsmith, he’s similar to a guy like myself, to a guy like Caleb (Martin),” Haslem adds. “Guys like us are probably going to be guarding the best player on the other team, and we’re not going to get any plays ran for us on offense. … I’ve got much love and respect for those guys because I understand how hard that role is.”
In Game 1 against the Nuggets, Highsmith went 7-for-10 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3, and he shot the Heat’s only two free-throw attempts of the night. Denver held a large lead for most of the game, but Highsmith gave the Heat a sliver of hope in the fourth quarter. He made a layup to cut the Miami deficit to 10 with 4:16 remaining, then a 3 with 2:34 left to bring the Heat within nine. He’s comfortable and confident when on the floor, Butler said after the game.
He also took on defensive responsibility, guarding Jamal Murray at points during the game. He acknowledged afterward that could be an assignment he has, starting when Miami tries to even the series Sunday in Game 2.
Murray is a dynamic offensive force who will create shots against almost anyone, and Highsmith wasn’t perfect guarding him in Game 1 — he bit on a Murray pump fake early in the second, leading to a made 3 — but there were encouraging signs for Miami, too. He stole a ball from Murray in the backcourt to start the fourth quarter and scored on a layup. Love, who describes Highsmith as a Swiss Army knife, praised his ability to switch defensively on to different positions.
“I think it makes him really valuable to this team,” Love said, calling his teammate a true professional with a willingness to do whatever is necessary to succeed.
He’s found an NBA home, and he’s making the most of his opportunity.
“This is the ultimate stage, the finals,” Highsmith says. “(With) the ups and downs through the season I’ve been through and the ups and downs I’ve been through in my career, I’m ready to go.”
(Top photo: Andy Cross / MediaNews Group / The Denver Post via Getty Images)
