Miami Heat news: Dion Waiters played through a broken foot in 2017

Dion Waiters revealed in a piece for The Player’s Tribune that he played through a lot of pain for the Miami Heat in 2017

Dion Waiters had a really hot start to his NBA career, one that has come crashing back to earth very quickly. The Miami Heat bought Waiters stock a bit too late and were stuck with his contract which, at some points, felt immovable for the team.

Waiters grew frustrated with his diminished role on the Miami Heat this year and was suspended several times for various instances of activity “detrimental to the team,” including one in which he had a bad experience after taking a THC-infused gummy on a team-chartered plane.

Waiters played just three games for the Heat this season, having a huge debut game against the LA Clippers in late January in which he scored 14 points, hitting some huge shots down the stretch to keep Miami in the game, though they’d ultimately lose.

In an article for The Player’s Tribune this week, Waiters was ever-revealing about his journey, his struggles, and what he’s gone through. He spoke on depression and his headspace. It explains a lot and provides a ton of perspective on his career and what he’s gone through thus far.

The human element of Waiters was on full display.

In a note within, Waiters revealed that he played on a broken foot for the Heat in 2017:

"“I played a year and a half on a broken foot, and you ain’t hear me crying. It was surgery or insoles, man. I picked the insoles because I was trying to get us to the playoffs. We knew what it was. I sacrificed my body for the Miami Heat, and I’d do it again. Hell yeah, I’d do it again. But my body just broke down to the point where I could only do so much in a day. Then I couldn’t keep the weight off no matter how much I tried. And then we all know what comes after that: “Dion’s fat. Dion’s out of shape. Dion don’t care.””"

It’s a challenging situation for both the player and the team. The Heat have extremely strict conditioning requirements, notably suspending James Johnson, an extremely strong and athletic player, prior to this season starting because he showed up to training camp overweight.

So it’s easy to sympathize with Waiters. Not only was he struggling with the weight, but he was on the worst possible team for that uncontrollable situation.

Waiters accepted the high standards, and it shows with his mindset of initially deferring surgery to push the team to the playoffs. Waiters, in that season where he played 30 games, averaged 14.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. He played until mid-December and then opted for surgery. He really hasn’t been the same since.

His TPT letter was revealing and gave some much-needed perspective, especially of those that have been critical of Philly Cheese.

Hopefully, years from now, Heat fans can remember that Dion Waiters put his body on the line for the team. That’s Heat culture.