Jimmy Butler has been the face of the Heat's stunning run from the No. 8 seed in the East to the NBA Finals, but Miami wouldn't be in this position without the help of undrafted players.
From Caleb Martin's dominant performance in Game 7 against the Celtics to Gabe Vincent's steadiness throughout the playoffs, what once looked like a makeshift Miami roster has turned into a force in the East.
Pat Riley has mastered the art of uncovering hidden talent, giving unheralded players second, third, and even fourth chances while still building a serious contender. The combination of Butler's stardom and the grit of Miami's undrafted players has proven to be an unstoppable force in the East in these playoffs.
If the Heat are going to take out the Nuggets and win their first championship in nine years, it's going to take even more heavy lifting from their collection of undrafted players.
MORE: Three reasons why the Heat can win the NBA Finals
Here's a look at Miami's bevy of undrafted talent and how the franchise landed each player.
How many undrafted players do the Heat have?
The Heat have seven undrafted players on their playoff roster. Only four are part of Erik Spoelstra's regular rotation, but all four have made huge contributions in the playoffs with Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo both sidelined.
All seven have made an impact for Miami at one point or another, detailing just how much depth Spoelstra has at his disposal.
As the Heat prepare to play in the NBA Finals, here's a closer look at how Miami landed its undrafted players.
Caleb Martin
Martin and his twin, Cody, were both standouts at Nevada, leading the Wolfpack to the Sweet 16 under Eric Musselman in 2018. Martin averaged 19.1 points per game between his two seasons with the Wolfpack, but that wasn't enough to get him drafted in 2019.
Despite his career taking off in Miami, it wasn't the Heat who first took a chance on Martin. The Hornets signed both brothers, with Cody turning into a rotation piece but Caleb seeing a more sporadic role. In August 2021, Caleb was waived by Charlotte.
The Heat signed Martin before the 2021-22 season and converted his two-way contract to a standard deal in February 2022. After re-signing on a three-year, $20 million deal, which now looks like a bargain, Martin has emerged as a legitimate two-way weapon for a Heat team that sits four wins from a title.
MORE: How Caleb Martin went from undrafted college star to NBA playoff savior
Duncan Robinson
It's easy to forget Robinson is part of the Heat's undrafted core because he emerged so much earlier than Martin, Vincent, and Strus.
After going undrafted out of Michigan largely because of concerns about his limited skillset outside of his shooting ability, Robinson quickly emerged as an invaluable piece for Miami. He shot a ridiculous 44.6 percent from 3-point range in 2019-20, helping to power the Heat to the Finals, and his five-year, $90 million contract signed in 2021 was the largest ever for an undrafted player.
Robinson saw his role diminish this season as a result of his limitations and a much deeper Heat roster, but injuries to Herro and Oladipo have allowed him to re-emerge as a critical offensive piece in the playoffs.
MORE: Ranking the 10 best players in the 2023 NBA Finals
Gabe Vincent
Vincent went undrafted out of UC Santa Barbara in 2018, and his first opportunity didn't come with the Heat. He initially signed with the Kings and spent more than a season with Sacramento's G-League affiliate without reaching the NBA.
The Heat saw something in Vincent and signed a two-way contract in the early days of 2020. He stuck around in 2020-21, bouncing in and out of Miami's rotation, but Vincent earned his roster spot ahead of the 2021-22 season and turned into a key piece for the Heat.
In these playoffs, Vincent has been extremely valuable. His 29-point performance in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals might have been the difference in such a close series, and the Heat's largest loss of the series came when he missed Game 5 due to injury.
Gabe Vincent stepback 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) May 30, 2023
Heat/Celtics ECF Game 7 | 2Q on TNT pic.twitter.com/hcAiI5CbfW
Vincent never averaged more than 15 points per game at UCSB, but he shot an impressive 37.6 percent from 3-point range and has continued to be a sharpshooter in the NBA.
Max Strus
Strus was also a gifted scorer in college, averaging 20.1 points per game in his final season at DePaul, but it wasn't enough for him to hear his name called on draft night.
The Heat didn't give Strus his first or second opportunity after he went undrafted in 2019. He spent the summer with the Celtics before getting cut loose prior to the season, and the Bulls gave him his first NBA opportunity shortly thereafter.
Strus would only appear in two regular season games with Chicago, but Miami saw enough from him in the G-League to give him a two-way deal days before the 2020-21 season. Strus took on a major role in 2021-22, shooting 41 percent from 3-point range and proving to be one of the key pieces of Spoelstra's Heat offense.
Strus' collegiate career didn't even start at the Division I level, remarkably. He started out at Division II Lewis University before transferring to DePaul. Now, Strus is a crucial piece on a Heat team that is aiming to win a championship.
Haywood Highsmith
Highsmith, like Strus, took the Division II route. He never transferred up, however, going undrafted out of Wheeling University in West Virginia in 2018 and spending the bulk of the next four years in the 76ers' system.
The Heat were the second team to give Highsmith a chance, but even that didn't last long initially. Miami let him go back to the 76ers' G-League affiliate after his 10-day contract ran out in 2022. The Heat re-signed Highsmith a few weeks later, and he appeared in 54 games this season with averages of 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
While not a regular member of the postseason rotation for the Heat, he did play heavy minutes when Vincent missed Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
MORE: Re-drafting Max Strus, Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson in 2018 & 2019
Udonis Haslem
Haslem might be the most unique of the Heat's seven undrafted players. He went undrafted all the way back in 2002 and is set to turn 43 in June.
Like others, though, Haslem didn't get his first chance from the Heat. He briefly spent time with the Hawks, never appearing in a game, and would play professionally in France for a year before the Heat took a chance on him.
Miami was rewarded, as Haslem overcame his lack of size for his position and became a part of all three Heat championship teams. Now, Haslem is only a leader in the locker room. He hasn't been a regular member of Spoelstra's rotation since the 2014-15 season but he continually re-signed to provide leadership and play a few spare minutes.
This is Haslem's final season, so he could see the floor at some point during the Finals at the end of a game that's already been decided.
Omer Yurtseven
Yurtseven hasn't made much of an impact this season, but he appeared in 56 games and made 12 starts in 2021-22. The big man spent his college career at NC State and Georgetown before going undrafted in 2020.
Like many others on the Heat, an NBA opportunity didn't come instantly for Yurtseven. He spent his first season out of college playing for the Thunder's G-League affiliate.
Yurtseven, Vincent, Strus, and others all serve as proof that undrafted players' first opportunity isn't necessarily their last.
