While we are just 14 games into the 2025-26 season, it’s a big one for Miami Heat guard Dru Smith
Smith has only played more than 14 games in a single season just once — yes, once — since he entered the league in 2022-23. Their middle-of-the-week showdown against Golden State will presumably be his 15th.
He has dealt with myriad injuries, including season-ending ACL and achilles surgeries each of the last two seasons, respectively.
The “superpower” that head coach Erik Spoelstra’s lauded has propelled the 27-year-old to have his most impactful season yet, especially since he’s athletically looked as good as he did pre-injury.
“When I talk about ‘make a competitive impact,’ that’s what [Dru Smith] does,” Spoelstra said after the Heat’s 115-113 nail-biter against the Knicks. “So, all of the sudden, if the game requires to knock down three 3s, he’s going to do that. He might not do that the next game, it might be like three steals.
“He’s really great for that (second) unit because he keeps them settled. Everyone else can just be aggressive, hair on fire — he is kind of a calming presence and super smart, disciplined and had an impact.”
Smith had another huge night, knocking down three huge threes in the second half and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes. But where Smith’s continued to wreak havoc is defensively, and one stat justifies it.
Dru Smith is among the league’s best in these two stats:
Smith’s one steal in Monday’s win doesn’t do him enough justice.
Throughout the 2025-26 season, the 6-foot-3 guard has been one of the Heat’s most disruptive defenders. Through 14 games, he’s averaging 6.3 points, two rebounds and 3.3 assists across 16.6 minutes, shooting 47.8 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from 3-point range.
But Smith is also averaging 1.5 steals and, more importantly, 2.4 deflections per game. Those two numbers also don’t quite do him enough justice.
Smith’s absurd 3.1 steals per 75 possessions leads all players (min. 200 MIN), while his 5.1 deflections per 36 minutes ranks in the 96th percentile, according to NBA.com’s tracking data.
He’s been nothing short of elite wreaking havoc defensively — and no team in the NBA’s needed it more in this new fast-paced offense. Good point-of-attack defense is vital for teams who play fast, and Smith deserves a ton of credit for consistently excelling in his role.
“[Dru Smith] is a steady force for us in that second unit,” Norman Powell said after Monday’s win. “He might not always get big numbers. But he’s in the right spots at the right time defensively — anchoring that, being in gaps, getting his hands on the basketball for deflections and steals.
“He’s a very (high) IQ player on both sides of the ball.”
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There is no understating the value of his skillsets. We are very fortunate to have the one two punch of solid point guard play on both sides of the ball with Davion and Dru. The huge importance of good ball handling and distribution to allow the team to flow into their offensive sets quickly has been a factor in several wins this season.
The guard play at the point guard and shooting guard has been a positive. And Powell is the superior overall player in effectiveness over Herro. So, when Ty returns, he should come off the bench, as that seems his best usage. Any situation where he starts may help us while hurting us more. We should be quite analytical about this and do what’s best for the Heat.
Herro should come off the bench at the beginning until he acclimates. Together with Smith, Larsson, Jaquez and Fontecchio (or Jovic), the second unit could be much higher scoring than it currently is.
Dru Smith is unbelievable. After enduring two season ending injuries, he came in looking like a seasoned, mature veteran. His defense, playmaking and shooting are just what the doctor ordered for a back-up PG. Win/Win situation for him and Heat.
I’m concerned he will be the odd man out when Herro returns and Mitchell bumps down to second team PG. He’ll also need to compete with Jakucionis for playing time once the kid is good to go. Nonetheless, he’ll be great to have as insurance in case of injuries and as a defensive player off the bench.
Heat wouldn’t be that bad last year, if would have him.
It’s easy to see why Miami stuck by him during his injuries. One of the best contracts in the NBA.
A solid, humble, glue guy!
Indeed. And one of the positive surprises of this season. I think nobody doubted his skills, but to be able to play at such level after those two serious injuries. He had such a bad luck with those injuries and the timing of those injuries. I am happy for him. Good job by our front office for believong in him and giving him this contract. Now we can enjoy the rewards of it.