‘So disrespectful:’ Miami Heat’s undrafted players eager to prove their worth in NBA Finals

What is remarkable to some is now considered disrespectful by the Miami Heat.

Yes, the Heat has reached the NBA Finals with a rotation filled with undrafted players. But this also isn’t new, considering the Heat has made the Eastern Conference finals in three of the last four seasons and the NBA Finals in two of the last four seasons with chunk of its rotation made up of undrafted players.

“That’s kind of played out,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said during the conference finals when asked about the undrafted success stories on the Heat’s roster. “That’s so disrespectful to keep on talking about that that way.

“That story line is over. These guys have proven themselves as competitors and winning players.”

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But despite Spoelstra’s best effort to push it away, it’s a story line that has followed the Heat into its NBA Finals matchup against the Denver Nuggets, because developing undrafted talent is a big part of Miami’s winning formula.

The Heat has played seven undrafted players (Udonis Haslem, Haywood Highsmith, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Omer Yurtseven) during this year’s playoffs. It’s the most undrafted players to log minutes in a postseason for a team to reach the NBA Finals in the modern draft era since 1966-67, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

“I appreciate Spo saying that. It means a lot,” Strus said of Spoelstra’s dismissive answer to the undrafted question. ”I mean, he’s kind of right. But at the end of the day, that’s always going to be next to our name. So that’s something that we’re always going to carry with us and always have that chip on our shoulders. But I think with our experience, the way we play and what we do for the team, I think that doesn’t even really resonate with us anymore.”

Five undrafted players logged double-digit minutes for the Heat in Thursday’s 104-93 Game 1 loss to the Nuggets in the NBA Finals at Ball Arena. Game 2 is Sunday in Denver (8 p.m., ABC).

Martin started and played 25 minutes. He went undrafted in 2019 out of Nevada and was waived by the Charlotte Hornets in August 2021 before signing with the Heat prior to the start of the 2021-22 season.

Strus started and played 21 minutes. He went undrafted in 2019 out of DePaul, was waived by the Boston Celtics in October 2019 and was not retained by the Chicago Bulls in 2020 before joining the Heat prior to the start of the 2020-21 season.

Vincent started and played 38 minutes. He went undrafted in 2018 out of UC-Santa Barbara in 2018, was waived by the Sacramento Kings in October 2018 and floated around the G League before joining the Heat in the middle of the 2019-20 season.

Robinson logged 21 minutes off the bench. He went undrafted out of Michigan in 2018 before signing with the Heat that offseason.

Highsmith logged 23 minutes off the bench. He went undrafted out of Wheeling University in West Virginia in 2018, spent the 2020-21 season in the German Basketball Bundesliga and also spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers’ G League affiliate before signing with the Heat in December 2021.

“It’s always good to remember it because it gives you a good perspective on how far you’ve come and where you’ve gotten to in this league,” Strus said of the undrafted talking point. “But at the same time, you can’t let it always be in the back of your mind because you want to keep advancing and keep getting better.”

It’s about finding a balance between taking pride in an unlikely path to extended minutes in the NBA Finals and also working to shed the undrafted label.

“You want to be labeled as an NBA player, but you don’t forget the road you took to get here, you don’t forget where you started and where you came from,” Martin said. “That’s what makes it also very special. I think that’s why our connection is so great because near half our team went through the same stuff. I think the fact that’s the case has also helped us get to this point. So just as much as it can get old, it’s also very special.”

But this isn’t the first group of Heat undrafted players to create headlines.

Haslem, who went undrafted out of Florida in 2002 and is in his 20th and final NBA season, has played a role on each of the franchise’s three championship teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013 and is the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder. He’s the only undrafted player in NBA history to lead a franchise in total rebounds.

There have also been other Heat undrafted success stories in the past such as Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Kendrick Nunn and Keith Askins, among others. In addition, Miami’s current coaching staff features three former Heat players who went undrafted in Chris Quinn, Malik Allen and Anthony Carter.

The Heat’s player development program is considered one of the best in the league, identifying undrafted prospects who fit its system and then developing them in summer league and in the G League until they’re ready for significant NBA minutes. Spoelstra is the leader of this process, but player development coaches such as Carter, Octavio De La Grana, Eric Glass and Rob Fodor also play big roles.

“We don’t typically have a ton of draft picks. That’s just us,” Spoelstra said when asked about the Heat’s impressive ability to develop undrafted talent into rotation players. “It’s not right or wrong, that’s just our philosophy. So we have to stockpile and develop our talent base sometimes in different ways to fill out a roster.

“We’ve had great examples over the years. It’s always easier when you have guys like UD that have been the example. Anthony Carter, Malik Allen, Chris Quinn, all these guys that kind of set the stage for the next generation of those guys. They’re the ones that are working with these guys. But if you have a big dream and want to be challenged, we feel like we can be the place for a lot of those kind of guys.”

The Heat already set the record for the most points by undrafted players in any postseason game during the modern draft era, when Miami’s undrafted players combined for 81 points in a Game 3 win over the Celtics in the East finals on May 21. The Heat holds the top eight spots on the NBA’s all-time list of highest-scoring playoff games for a group of undrafted players.

“I love it,” Haslem said. “I tell these guys all the time, man, when you get an opportunity and you see these guys that were drafted, don’t forget them, don’t forget the guys who were drafted in front of you. Don’t forget all these guys that they said were better. When you get your opportunity, you step between the lines and you handle your business. I’ve watched those guys do that over and over and over again. They’re finally starting to get the respect that they deserve and that they worked for and earned.”

While Heat players are tired of the story line, they know their production during this playoff run and their opportunity in the NBA Finals could help open doors for other undrafted players around the league.

“If we can be those guys who eventually got to that point and help open up eyes for organizations to give those guys an extra chance or a little bit more time, we would love to be the guys to kind of start that,” Martin said.

A championship could change the narrative for the Heat’s undrafted players or it could just become an even bigger part of this team’s story.

“If we get it done, they’ll say that we’re the ‘Championship Undrafted,’” Vincent said with a smile. “They’ll still find a way to put it in there. So I’m not too concerned with it. Obviously, a championship is at the forefront of my mind.”