It was a memorable season for the journeyman shooting guard, who looks as if he’s finally found a place to call home with the Miami Heat.
Much like that of a Stephen King novel, the young career of Dion Waiters has had its ups and downs. He started off strong, sputtered a little, then caught fire toward the end, just like he did this season, and just like he’s done since entering the NBA back in the summer of 2012.
For years, Waiters was viewed as an irritant on the court. He often clashed with coaches and teammates over his role, and his fractured relationship with Kyrie Irving allegedly led to the Cavaliers pushing him out of Cleveland.
After a short stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder, everything changed upon his arrival in Miami.
Much like fellow journeyman teammate James Johnson, Waiters fully embraced what is known as the Heat culture, and took the challenge head on. It could not have benefited him any greater.
After working himself into what he calls the best shape of his life, Waiters posted the second-highest points per game average of his career to go along with career-highs in assists, rebounds, and minutes. He also shot a career-best 39 percent from downtown, playing a key role in Miami’s memorable second-half surge, one in which it boasted the second-best record in the NBA at 30-11.
Far beyond any statistic, however, was Waiters’s uncanny ability to come through when the Heat needed him the most, specifically with his outside shooting (see: the shot vs Golden State).
Jumper after jumper, Waiters delivered for the Heat, earning himself several nicknames among the Miami faithful, including D-Wait (I chuckled at that one), Waiters Island, and Mr. Clutch.
Nothing seemed to phase him, but adapting to the Miami system was not a cake walk, as he pointed out in a recent article published in The Players’ Tribune:
“When Pat said ‘world-class shape,’ I thought it sounded cool, but in my head, I was like, Yeah, I got this. I’m in world-class shape. You already know.” Waiters said. “So I show up for camp, and after one week, my body is shot. I was damn near throwing up in trash cans like in the movies.”
Let’s take a look at his season.
Best Performance: January 23, 2017 vs. Golden State: 33 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, game winner.
There is no doubt that Waiters’s best performance of the season came in game 45 against his former teammate, Kevin Durant and the top-seeded Warriors.
In what would turn into one of the more exciting finishes of the season, Waiters eventually got the best of Durant, scoring 11 points in the final period to help preserve both Miami’s lead and a much-needed victory.
Just like they’ve done for the past two years, the fast-paced Warriors would not go away. Trailing by double-digits for much of the night, Golden State found themselves in a 98-88 hole with 3:15 to play.
Three minutes later, a Durant dunk knotted everything up at 102.
There was 11.7 seconds on the clock, and Miami still had timeouts remaining.
Spoelstra didn’t call one.
Staring the waning clock dead in the face, Waiters calmly carried the ball down court and waved everybody off, signaling iso.
With Klay Thompson draped all over him, he crossed to his right, then took it back to his left and raised up over the outstretched arms of one of the NBA’s premier perimeter defenders.
Bottom.
There was still 0.6 seconds left on the clock, too little time for the Warriors to do anything.
Miami went on to win their fourth-consecutive game, in the midst of an historic 13-game win streak.
Interesting Stat: 23.8
Waiters graded out as one of Miami’s best distributors, assisting on 23.8 percent of his teammate’s total field goals while he was on the floor.
That’s nearly a 14 percent increase from last season, and five percent above his previous career-high, which was 18.4.
It’s also better than former Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade, who assisted on 22.4 percent of his teammate’s total field goals.
Waiters recorded 18 games with five or more assists this season, and he only appeared in 46 total due to injuries to his groin and ankle. That means that 39 percent of time, Waiters was especially looking to get teammates involved.
That’s a big change from earlier in his career. In fact, that’s something we have rarely, if ever, witnessed. Waiters averages just 2.7 assists per game for his career, and he put up just over four per game this year.
If Miami can make this man intro a willing distributor of the basketball, just imagine what he could do alongside Goran Dragic for years to come.
What We Learned
We learned that Waiters is a more-than-willing teammate, and a beyond-capable closer.
Much like that of teammate James Johnson, it is rare when you see a player have this type of resurgence after several years of putting up middle-of-the-pack numbers.
It’s not every day that you see a player increase his scoring average by six points per game, either.
As Waiters so eloquently stated in his piece for The Players’ Tribune, ” They say, ‘He never seen a shot he don’t like. He’s got irrational confidence. He thinks he’s the best player in the NBA.’ Hell yeah I do.”
Above anything else, if there is one thing we’ve learned about this man after getting to know him well over the course of the past six months, it is this: There’s no knocking his confidence. None.
Ever hear of the countless times Waiters went 1-on-1 with Durant at Thunder practice? Neither have I, but Waiters remembers their behind-the-scenes duels vividly:
"“When I got to OKC, me and K.D. were together every day. Kev used to think it was funny, because when we got in the gym and played 1-on-1, I was trying to kill him. Straight up,” Waiters said. “Go ahead and ask him who won our last game. Ask him. He’ll tell you. He won a lot, too. But I got him plenty.”"
Not bad, not bad at all.
While Durant has never been quoted discussing this specifically, he uttered nothing but praise for his former teammate following their last showdown in South Beach:
“He gave me a little wink after he hit that three,” Durant said, chuckling. “F****g sucked to see that go through the rim, but that’s a big brother to me kind of. [I] can smile at that one after the game was over. He played great.”
Just how close were the two while playing for the Thunder? Durant reiterated Waiters’s claims once more.
“As soon as he got to OKC, I was the first one to kind of greet him,” he said. “I wrapped my arm around him early. So we had a nice bond. Every road trip we were together. We had a nice bond. Big brother, little brother relationship, man.”
While Waiters’s references are impressive, the tale of the tape proved the story this year, and he has a bright future (and massive pay-day) ahead.
Where Do We Go From Here?
There is absolutely no doubt that Waiters will be one of Miami’s priorities this offseason, as he’s expected to opt out and become an unrestricted free agent.
What plays into the Heat’s favor is that Waiters himself has also made it a priority of his to stay in Miami, stating that he does not even want to be a free agent for a long time, per the Miami Herald:
"“I want to get it done as quick as possible,” he said. “Let’s keep this thing rolling by any means. I don’t want to go into free agency with a couple days and make a decision. I don’t want that.”"
While Waiters has yet to decline his $3 million player option for next year, he certainly will, as he’s expected to make a lot more money on the open market after a strong season.
One may look at this stretch as just a small sample size, but Waiters has proven he has the ability, and Miami is the best place for him to thrive.
Next: What is Blake Griffin worth?
Pat Riley will likely feel out the elite free agents first, but re-signing Waiters and Johnson should be the very next priority. It’d be ideal for the Heat to retain Waiters and get another season from this group but, as the years have proven, anything and everything is possible when it comes to the Heat,