Cade Cunningham #2 and Duncan Robinson #55 of the Detroit Pistons confer during the second half at the United Center on October 22, 2025 in Chicago. Michael Reaves Getty Images
After watching Duncan Robinson turn into one of the Miami Heat’s greatest undrafted success stories, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t afraid to admit that it’s going to feel odd to go against Robinson for the first time ever.
“It will be strange,” Spoelstra said.
After all, Robinson spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Heat after going undrafted in 2018. Robinson and the Heat parted ways this past offseason, when Miami helped facilitate Robinson’s move to the Detroit Pistons through a sign-and-trade agreement in free agency at the start of July.
“I think there will be a mix of emotions,” Robinson said ahead of his return to Miami, with the Heat set to host the Pistons on Saturday night at Kaseya Center for the first of the teams’ three matchups this regular season. “It will be great to see a bunch of familiar faces, people that I have great lifelong relationships with.
“It will be strange to be on the other side in that building. Obviously, I’ve come to only know one experience from being in that building and that’s playing for the Heat. So this is a start of a new chapter, in that sense.”
But the Heat will celebrate the previous chapter of Robinson’s career before Saturday’s game, playing a tribute video for him at Kaseya Center just before tipoff to honor his memorable Heat tenure. While the Heat usually reserves tribute videos for former players who were named an NBA All-Star or won an NBA championship while with the organization, Robinson will get one because he’s the franchise’s all-time leader in three-point makes.
That record became the defining accomplishment of Robinson’s Heat tenure, as he became the franchise leader for the most three-pointers made after beginning his college career at Division III Williams College before transferring to the University of Michigan and then initially signing a two-way contract with the Heat in 2018 as an undrafted free agent.
Robinson made 1,202 three-pointers while shooting an impressive 39.7 percent from behind the arc during his seven regular seasons with the Heat. He left the Heat as one of only nine NBA players who made more than 1,000 threes while shooting better than 39 percent from three-point range during those seven seasons, along with Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield, Malik Beasley, CJ McCollum, Paul George, Zach LaVine, Klay Thompson and Gary Trent Jr.
But Robinson’s role shrunk over the years. After starting in 209 of his 239 regular-season appearances during his first four seasons with the Heat, he started in 74 of his 184 regular-season appearances during the final three seasons of his Heat tenure and even fell out of the rotation at times.
Robinson’s Heat career included two appearances in the NBA Finals and three appearances in the Eastern Conference finals, but he was never able to win an NBA championship in Miami.
“I think when I look back, I think my time in Miami, I’ll always think of as some of my most formative years as both a player and a person,” Robinson, 31, said. “I think I grew so much on the court, off the court. I think in a lot of ways, I learned what it meant to be a professional, how to become a man, handle adversity, deal with adversity, setbacks, what it meant to sacrifice, be a part of winning, contribute to winning. All those things I’m forever grateful for.
“In terms of just the growth as a player, I never thought that I would be in the situation I am in today. And I know that that wouldn’t be possible without that organization, that coaching staff, that front office and my teammates. So in that sense, I’ll just forever be grateful for all of them and that experience.”
The Heat’s coaching staff became fans and are still fans of Robinson and his improbable story.
“I still root for Duncan,” Spoelstra said. “He is one of the great success stories from our building. I wrote him a note after the deal and I’ve told him this before. But I really do think his story is so inspirational that eventually it could be a book or a movie. It just doesn’t happen where you come from Division III and then transfer to be a sixth man, and then to come to the NBA and get to 1,000 threes as quickly as he did and break our record for threes, and then he is going to continue to go. It’s just a credit to his fortitude and grit. He just has an amazing superpower.
“I do root for him. But it looks strange, him in that uniform. It really does.”
Duncan Robinson #55 of the Detroit Pistons shoots the ball against Tari Eason #17 of the Houston Rockets during the first half at Toyota Center on October 24, 2025 in Houston. Alex Slitz Getty Images
Robinson never thought he would actually be wearing a different uniform than the Heat one he wore for the first seven seasons of his NBA career. But after Robinson exercised the early-termination option in his contract to become a free agent this past summer, the Heat and Robinson could not make the math work for a return.
So Robinson agreed to a three-year contract worth $48 million to join the Pistons, and the Heat helped facilitate his move to Detroit by agreeing to a sign-and-trade transaction that brought three-point shooting forward Simone Fontecchio to Miami. Fontecchio is on a cheaper expiring contract that comes with an $8.3 million salary this upcoming season, creating some salary-cap flexibility for the Heat.
“I never really thought hard about being anywhere else,” Robinson said, admitting that he expected to be back with the Heat this season. “Because I was always sort of optimistic that we would find something to work. That didn’t mean that I didn’t want to be anywhere else. But it was more so, I had been in every trade rumor under the sun throughout my time, and it never happened. And I started to sort of live in this reality or this world where, maybe not reality, where I was just always going to be there.
“I remember when it first became clear that I was going to be leaving, the initial sort of shock of it setting in and then the days after were definitely a strange stretch — not identifying with being a part of the Heat anymore.”
In the end, the move seems to have worked out for both sides.
Robinson is playing as a starter for a talented Pistons team that entered Saturday’s game in Miami with the top record in the Eastern Conference at 15-4. Robinson is averaging 12.3 points per game while shooting 40.6 percent on 7.5 three-point attempts this season.
Meanwhile, the Heat enters Saturday’s matchup against the Pistons with an impressive 13-6 record after finishing with a losing record last season for the first time since the 2018-19 season and just the sixth time in Pat Riley’s 30 seasons with the organization.
“I think undoubtedly this is probably the best thing and the right thing, maybe arguably for both organizations — myself and the Heat,” Robinson said. “It doesn’t mean that I’m not grateful for my time there. But I’m really excited and thrilled for where I’m at now, and excited to be a part of this young and hungry Pistons team.”