On this week’s Heat Check: Is it time to worry after the Miami Heat’s rough preseason? By Pierre Taylor
Thursday marks the 10-month anniversary of the day Miami Heat guard Dru Smith tore his Achilles. But on the eve of that 10-month mark, Smith will reach another significant milestone.
Smith will be available for Wednesday night’s regular-season opener against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center less than a year after a torn Achilles cut his season short last season in December. It’s a return timetable not many knew Smith would be able to achieve while he was going through grueling rehab sessions earlier this year.
But while Smith, 27, isn’t surprised he will be in uniform for the first game of this regular season, the tough road he has taken to this point makes him appreciative of the moment.
“I’m not surprised I would say, but I just feel fortunate that my body has responded the way that it has and that I am able to be out here basically full-go all the time,” said Smith, who was only cleared to begin full 5-on-5 court work just before the start of training camp. “It’s been really good.”
Making Smith’s recovery even more impressive is the fact that he has spent much of the last two years rehabbing from significant setbacks, as he also sustained a knee injury in November 2023 that cut his 2023-24 season short before returning and then suffering a season-ending Achilles injury last December.
“I think just both injuries and all of that kind of stuff has definitely just changed my perspective on everything,” said Smith, who is entering his fourth NBA season after going undrafted out of Missouri in 2021. “I think I approach it with a lot more just appreciation of getting to be out here. But I haven’t really stopped to think about how close we are to really the injury and all that kind of stuff. Just trying to go out there and play basketball, and just trying to continue to get my feet under me.”
Dru Smith (12) high-fives Andrew Wiggins (22) during the first day of Miami HEAT Training Camp on Sept. 30, 2025, at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
Smith received an opportunity to shake some of the rust off this preseason, as he played in five of the Heat’s six exhibition games.
Smith totaled 22 points on 7-of-15 (46.7%) shooting from the field and 3-of-7 (42.9%) shooting from three-point range, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in 61 minutes during his five preseason appearances. He was also the only Heat player who played in more than three exhibitions and didn’t post a negative plus/minus during the team’s winless 0-6 preseason.
“Dru’s minutes, they just continue to impact the game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I just think more people notice it now, but the coaching staff noticed it immediately with him years ago. He just impacts the game. He impacts winning. That’s a hard thing sometimes for people to wrap their mind around. Everybody wants to just see stats or things of that nature. ... But he just helps everybody else be who they need to be because he’s just extremely intelligent.”
With the Heat watching Smith’s minutes this preseason — never playing him for more than 17 minutes in an exhibition — he was able to get through it without much of an issue.
“My body has been doing really well,” said Smith, who closed last season on a two-way contract with the Heat. “I take a lot more time to warm up and do that kind of stuff, just trying to be on top of everything. But overall, my body has responded about as good as I could expect it to. I’ve had a few days here and there where I’m feeling stiff or sore. But I think that’s to be expected when you’re getting back to really up and down, and that kind of stuff. So I feel, honestly, as good as I could ask to feel right now.”
Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) grabs his leg after being injured on a play during the first half of an NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets at Kaseya Center on Dec. 23, 2024, in Miami. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
Dealing with adversity and overcoming obstacles is nothing new for Smith, though. Along with Smith’s injury history, he has also already been waived by the Heat four different times before eventually being brought back.
Even after last season’s season-ending Achilles injury, the Heat knew it wanted to keep him around this season. While Smith wasn’t eligible to return to the Heat on a two-way contract this season because of NBA rules, Miami instead brought him back on a standard contract worth $7.9 million over three years (with his first-year salary of $2.4 million fully guaranteed and the second and third years of the deal including conditional guarantees).
After starting in two of his five preseason appearances this year, Smith didn’t know whether he would start or play off the bench ahead of Wednesday’s regular-season opener.
But whichever role Smith is used in, he’s just happy he’ll be available to play on Wednesday in Orlando.
“Super, super meaningful for me,” Smith said of being in uniform for the regular-season opener. “I think that I’ll just be very appreciative of the journey that I’ve had to get to that point. I’ll just take a second to kind of take it in, and then it turns back into basketball after that. But, yeah, I’ll definitely be very grateful to be back out there.”