The 2024-25 Miami Heat frontcourt will have a heavy IU basketball influence.
In addition to first round draft choice Kel’el Ware, former Indiana star Thomas Bryant will play for the NBA franchise next season. Marc Stein appeared to be the first of many to report the news.
It’s the second time in three years the Heat will have two former Hoosiers. Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller both played for Miami in 2022-23.
For Bryant, it will be a return season with the Heat.
The 6-foot-10 Bryant is expected to return on a one-year contract at the NBA veteran minimum, around $2.8 million.
Bryant, who initially signed a two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Heat last summer, averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in just 11.6 minutes per game across 38 appearances. He exercised a player option in his contract to opt-out of the second year and enter free agency, but Bryant quickly resigned with the Heat.
The 26-year-old Bryant was taken in the second round by Utah in 2017, but was sent to the Lakers as part of a trade. He played four years in Washington before signing with the Lakers again two years ago. He then went to Denver midseason during the 2022-23 campaign and won a championship. Bryant and Denver faced Miami, Oladipo and Zeller in the 2023 Finals.
A seven-year veteran, Bryant’s best season came in 2020-21 with Washington when he was averaging 14.3 points per game and shot 42.9% from three before suffering a season-ending injury.
A two-time third-team All-Big Ten selection, Bryant is Indiana’s all-time and single season leader in field goal percentage (59.2 and 68.3, respectively). As a freshman at IU, his 15 points in the second half led the Hoosiers to a 73-67 win over No. 10 Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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