London London. Miami Heat guard Drew Smith suffered another season-ending injury, this time to the Achilles in his left foot. It's the third consecutive season Smith has missed the middle of the season due to injury. Smith faced Brooklyn on Monday night The injury was suffered in Miami's 110–95 victory. The initial diagnosis was a torn Achilles after leaving the court, and an MRI exam on Tuesday confirmed the severity of the injury. The injury comes 13 months after he was sidelined for most of the 2023-24 season with a right knee injury. Were out. There will be surgery to repair the Achilles, followed by months of rehabilitation. Smith also saw his 2021-22 season with Miami's Sioux Falls affiliate in the G League cut short due to a knee injury.
“You don't want to see anybody get hurt, but we all have incredible, deep respect for his journey and what he's had to overcome,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed the full severity of the injury on Monday night. Said before it happened. “I've been in the building every time for the last year when no one else was here and he's been doing all kinds of extensive treatment and rehabilitation around the clock. He has incredible tenacity. You totally root for people like Drew. ” Smith was enjoying the best season of his brief NBA career. He was averaging 6.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 19.1 minutes per game, all of which were career bests.
He was on a two-way contract that was potentially being upgraded to a standard NBA deal – a contract that could increase his salary from $578,577 to $1.2 million. Smith's 2023–24 season ended when he suffered an ACL injury in his right knee after slipping on a raised section of the floor in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers bench on November 22, 2023. That accident also required season-ending surgery. And several months of recovery were required. He was part of Miami's rotation by that point, appearing in nine of the team's first 15 games. Smith averaged 4.5 points in 38 NBA games with Miami and Brooklyn. He has been in training camp with the Heat in each of the last four seasons.
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