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While the Heat made headlines when trading for Norman Powell, other players on the team have proved to be vital, like defensive stalwart Haywood Highsmith. As Highsmith earned a contract extension from the Heat in the 2024 offseason, there is a chance he misses the start of the upcoming season due to the latest injury he has suffered.
The team announced on their social media pages that Highsmith sustained a meniscal tear in his right knee during a training session in Baltimore. Highsmith would undergo a successful surgery to repair that lasted 35 minutes, but is “expected to miss eight-to-1o weeks.”
“INJURY UPDATE: Haywood Highsmith underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee, which he suffered while training in Baltimore,” the team wrote on their own X, formerly Twitter, account. “He will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to miss eight-to-10 weeks. The 35-minute procedure was performed by HEAT team physician Dr. Harlan Selesnick at Doctors Hospital Surgery Center in Miami.”
While his statistics might not pop off the screen, Highsmith is a key player in head coach Erik Spoelstra's rotation, being known for his defense and even giving the team a “burst” when needed. Spoelstra would echo the same sentiments throughout last season.
“They’ve been giving us this kind of burst off the bench,” Spoelstra said of Highsmith and also Davion Mitchell in March. “I mentioned that a couple games ago that your second unit, you want the energy to change. When your second unit comes in, it should feel different. And those two guys are embracing that kind of role. They're thriving in it and everybody can feel it.”
Erik Spoelstra on Davion Mitchell and Haywood Highsmith “thriving” in their roles off the bench. Plus, speaks on what Kyle Anderson brings that’s different off the bench. #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/gxwH4ISfiP
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 28, 2025
Heat's Haywood Highsmith has been integral
With the Heat also re-signing Davion Mitchell this offseason, the team has always prioritized the defensive side of the ball, and Highsmith encompasses that aspect. Spoelstra would even go as far as to compare Highsmith to that of former Miami player P.J. Tucker.
“You have to be ready, you have to always go to the other team's best players, you don't know whether you're going to start or whether you're going to come off the bench, and then as soon as you go in there, everybody's looking at the player you're guarding,” Spoelstra said in January. “And then so those responsibilities and the expectations are tenfold, but that's the job, and there are a lot of people that would love to have that job, and Haywood was one of them.”
“The model that we've always kind of built, you know, for that, for him is the PJ Tucker, you know, role,” Spoelstra continued. “You can carve out a great career and a great role, you know, doing those kinds of things, the dirty work, so to say. And he's embraced all that.”
Erik Spoelstra speaks on how Haywood Highsmith could have a role similar to PJ Tucker. #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/NoTv3rnPvk
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) January 21, 2025
Training camp for the Heat is slated to begin on Sept. 30, which is seven weeks away, and with his timeline of missing eight-to-1o weeks, his status is in doubt.
