Dion Waiters' sense of confidence is as sky-high as ever coming into this Miami Heat training camp. Having gone in an unforeseen 13-game winning streak last season and secured a four-year, $52 million deal this offseason, the Philly native wasn't in agreement with this year's Sports Illustrated rankings, which left him out of their top-100 list.
Waiters barely made it into ESPN's rankings at 98 — an offense which he's happy to shrug off his shoulders.
“We all know there’s not 100 players better than me in the league, man,” Waiters told Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday. “I don’t pay that no mind. That’s bulls***.”
The 6-foot-4 slasher averaged 15.8 points and 4.3 assists per game last season as the Heat’s starting shooting guard. Waiters averaged 18.4 points over the final 41 games, despite missing considerable time at the end of the season with a nagging injury.
Among guards who played at least 45 games last season, Waiters was fourth in the league with an overall opponent field-goal percentage of 40.4 percent, according to D'Angelo.
Sports Illustrated labeled Waiters “a one-trick pony who hasn’t yet mastered his trick” — but the 25-year-old claimed he won't be using those words as motivation coming into this season.
“Some (expletive) behind a table probably never played basketball before,” Waiters said. “You look at those names and you tell me.”
Follow Us
Subscribe