Though Michigan standout center Vlad Goldin went undrafted Wednesday and Thursday's 2025 NBA Draft, the 7-foot-1 big man will get his NBA shot. After a strong season with the Wolverines in which he averaged 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and1.4 blocks per game, Goldin signed a two-way NBA contract with the Miami Heat.
A two-way contract, as the name suggests, is a contract that allows each NBA team to sign two players, but gives them the opportunity to taxi them between their NBA team and their G-League affiliate. For the Heat, that will mean Goldin will split time between Miami and the Siouz Falls Skyforce.
Though not a full contract, the two-way deal will pay more than $500,000 in the 2025-26 season, and could ultimately lead to a full NBA contract. Such was the case for another former Michigan player, Duncan Robinson, who went from an undrafted two-way contract with the Heat to a full-fledged contract. Robinson remains with the Heat, and has accumulated more than $73 million in career earnings, per Spotrac.
As for Goldin, the NBA opportunity comes after a five-year NCAA career that began at Texas Tech, then led to Florida Atlantic and Michigan. After three increasingly productive seasons at Florida Atlantic, Goldin followed Dusty May to Michigan for his fifth and final collegiate season. Given his track record, expectations were high for Goldin to be among the Big Ten's best centers, and he lived up to that billing. He led the Wolverines with 16.6 points per game (3.4 more per game than the next-highest scorer), and failed to score in double figures in just two of Michigan's final 30 games, compared to 13 games with at least 20 points in that stretch.
He finished fifth in the Big Ten in points, seventh in rebounds, fifth in blocks, second in field-goal percentage (60.7 percent) and first in true shooting percentage (65.4 percent). After not attempting a single 3-pointer in his first four seasons, he went 11 for 33 from 3-point range, and shot a career-high 73.1 percent from the free-throw line.
For his efforts, he was named first-team All-Big Ten by the media, and second-team All-Big Ten by coaches and the AP. He was also named the Most Outstanding Player at the Big Ten Tournament, after averaging 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in wins over Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin, as Michigan won the title.
Though Goldin had plenty of statistically strong games, his 23-point, 12-rebound, 3-block game against Texas A&M was a difference-maker in the Wolverines' second-round NCAA Tournament win.
As an NBA Draft prospect, Goldin has legitimate size and strength, and even in jumping from the AAC to the Big Ten, the fifth-year senior was one of the most consistent and efficient scorers in the country. He and Creighton star Ryan Kalkbrenner were the only 7-footers to average at least 15 points per game on a true-shooting percentage of at least 65 percent (there were 143 7-footers who logged minutes in college basketball last season, for reference).
Within the numbers, Goldin's high shooting percentage by the rim highlight his savvy veteran moves, and consistent motor and work ethic, while his improvements in free-throw and even 3-point shooting show a softer shooting touch than others at his position, and a willingness and ability to expand his game.
Goldin has been a reliable offensive presence for years, but showed in the Big Ten that it wasn't just him beating up on lesser competition. At the NBA Combine, he also logged a 7-foot-6 wingspan.
The biggest knocks NBA scouts had on Goldin's profile was that he is already 24 years old, and performed as a below-average center athletically at the NBA Combine. Those two factors led many teams to wonder just what his NBA ceiling might be.
His defense, while at times effective, will be another question. Generally in the NBA, bigger, non-perimeter centers can struggle on defense, especially if they aren't otherworldly shot-blockers or athletes. That he added a 3-point shot should capture a few NBA teams' attention, but finishing the year 2-for-17 on 3s negates some of the strong progress he showed earlier in the season. Passing and avoiding turnovers is also not a strong suit of his, as he had 40 assists and 86 turnovers last season, and 95 sssists and 239 turnovers in his career.
Still, no one on Michigan's roster was as consistently effective last season as Goldin, and his leadership and maturity shined in the Wolverines' 5-1 showing in the postseason. Now, after growing his game each season and paying his dues at the collegiate level, Goldin gets his chance to embark on his professional career.
Goldin is expected to participate in the NBA's Summer League in July, taking place July 10-20 in Las Vegas.