Klay Thompson will join the Miami Heat with alluring opportunity and a potentially haunting reality each in his view. On one end of the conversation, Miami lacks a go-to scorer along the wings. On the other, Thompson hasn't exactly looked like himself over the past two seasons.
Unless Thompson can make a definitive claim for the opportunity to be the third option after big men Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, he should learn from Heat legend Dwyane Wade about how to make his mark in a less prominent role.
There was a time when Wade was one of the most dominant forces in professional basketball. The three-time NBA champion and eight-time All-NBA honoree won a scoring title at 30.2 points per game despite making just 1.1 threes per contest—as a 6'4" shooting guard, no less.
The time ultimately came when age and injuries caught up to Wade, however, and he settled into a role rather than being a dominant force.
In 2017-18, for instance, a mid-season trade brought a 36-year-old Wade back to Miami. He played just 22.2 minutes per game during the regular season and 25.4 in the playoffs, but still made his mark. He waited for his number to be called, took advantage of the shots made available to him, empowered his more prominently featured teammates to play their game, and ultimately helped the Heat win a playoff series.
That's exactly what Thompson should focus on doing in 2026-27 as a player whose off-ball value gives him the ultimate entry point to playing meaningful minutes in a more specifically-defined role.
There's nothing left to prove—but plenty more to gain
Thompson's two greatest strengths entering the 2026-27 season are his shooting proficiency and the manner in which defenses still respect it. In 2025-26, he shot 38.3 percent on 5.6 catch-and-shoot three-point field goal attempts per game.
Extrapolate the data and he buried 3.6 catch-and-shoot threes per 36 minutes—the type of production that perfectly suits a Heat squad with a downhill superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
What makes Thompson potentially following in Wade's footsteps realistic is that, even at 36 and on the other side of a torn ACL and a torn Achilles tendon, teams still respect his jumper as though he were the All-NBA wing he used to be. In 2025-26, he ranked in the 98th percentile in off-ball gravity, per Basketball Index.
Not to be confused with a player who sits in the corner and simply keeps his man glued to him, Thompson also ranked in the 94th percentile in off-ball movement points per 75 possessions.
If Thompson can simply continue to move without the ball, and attempt and convert catch-and-shoot opportunities, he can be a net positive on offense. From there, it's a matter of buying into Erik Spoelstra's defensive system, completing the right rotations, and not making it more difficult for his deep cast of elite defensive teammates to do their jobs.
It all sounds simple on paper, but if Thompson learns from Wade's example by sacrificing his ego and stepping up when Miami calls his number, he can be a positive contributor to a playoff team again.
Add us as a preferred source on Google