Haywood Lee Highsmith Jr. (born December 9, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the Miami Heat of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Highsmith was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He played college basketball for

Wheeling Jesuit University Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...

and was the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Player of the Year as a senior in 2018. After not being selected in the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...

, Highsmith began his professional basketball career with the

Delaware Blue Coats The Delaware Blue Coats are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Wilmington, Delaware, and are affiliated with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blue Coats play their home games at Chase Fieldhouse. The team was founde ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

in 2018. Late in the 2018–19 season, Highsmith made his NBA debut with the Blue Coats' parent team

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. In later years, Highsmith played in multiple stints with the Blue Coats, the Crailsheim Merlins of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

, and the Miami Heat of the NBA.

Early life and college career

Originally from

, Highsmith graduated from

Archbishop Curley High School Archbishop Curley High School is a Roman Catholic boys' high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in the United States, within the City of Baltimore. It is affiliated with the Conventual Franciscan religious order. It is the broth ...

in Baltimore in 2014 where he was classmates with NFL wide receiver

Deonte Harris Deonte Harty (born Deonte Harris, December 4, 1997) is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Assumption University in Worcester, Mas ...

of the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. His high school coach Brian Hubbard told ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' that Highsmith had little interest from

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

colleges. After high school, Highsmith attended Wheeling Jesuit University (now

Wheeling University Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...

) and played four seasons for the

Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals The Wheeling Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Wheeling University, located in Wheeling, West Virginia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily ...

from 2014 to 2018. He became a starter for the team towards the end of his freshman season. He averaged 14.5 points and 9.4 rebounds as a sophomore, his first full year as a starter, and was named first team All-

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 12 schools, mo ...

(MEC). In his junior season, Highsmith averaged 15.3 points and 10.8 rebounds and was named second team All-MEC. As a senior, High smith averaged 22 points and 12.6 rebounds per game and was named first team All-MEC, MEC Player of the Year, and the MVP of the MEC Conference tournament. Nationally, he was named first team Division II All-America by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the National Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association.

Professional career

Delaware Blue Coats (2018–2019)

After going undrafted in the

, Highsmith signed with the

of the

through a local tryout. He averaged 13.7 points per game in 21 appearances.

Philadelphia 76ers (2019)

Highsmith was signed to a two-way contract by the

on January 8, 2019. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the 76ers and the Blue Coats. Highsmith made his NBA debut the same day, scoring three points in five minutes of play in a 132–115 win over the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, after also playing in a game for the Blue Coats against

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, Ontario, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fi ...

earlier in the day. Highsmith finished his first professional season averaging 1.8 points and one rebound over five NBA games and 12.2 points, 6.8 rebounds , 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals over 46 G League games (42 starts). On June 24, 2019, the 76ers waived Highsmith.

Return to the Blue Coats (2019–2020)

After his Exhibit 10 deal with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

fell through, Highsmith returned to the 76ers to sign an Exhibit 10 contract. Highsmith re-joined the Blue Coats for the 2019–20 season. On December 31, Highsmith posted 20 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal in a loss to the Maine Red Claws. He averaged 10.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Crailsheim Merlins (2020–2021)

On September 4, 2020, Highsmith signed with the Crailsheim Merlins of the

Third stint with the Blue Coats (2021)

On July 27, 2021, Highsmith signed with Vanoli Cremona of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) with an NBA exit option. As an

Exhibit 10 The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that National Basketball Association teams are allowed to pay their players. Like many professional sports leagues, the NBA has a salary cap to control costs and benefit parity, defined b ...

offer arrived from the

, he decided to withdraw from Cremona and return to the U.S. On September 30, he signed and was waived by the 76ers. Highsmith rejoined the Blue Coats in 2021. He averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

Miami Heat (2021–2022)

On December 30, 2021, Highsmith signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat via the hardship exemption.

Fourth stint with the Blue Coats (2022)

On January 9, 2022, Highsmith was reacquired by the

Return to the Heat (2022–present)

On February 15, 2022, Highsmith signed a standard 10-day contract with the Miami Heat. Ten days later, he signed a second 10-day contract. Following the expiration of the second 10-day contract, Highsmith signed a three-year deal to remain with the Heat. On December 20, 2022, Highsmith scored a career-high 18 points, alongside two rebounds, two assists and four steals, in a 113–103 loss to the Chicago Bulls. The Heat qualified for the play-in tournament and advanced to face the top-seeded

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in the first round, whom they defeated in five games in a historic upset. In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Highsmith scored a then playoff career-high 15 points, alongside two rebounds and two steals, in a 110–97 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. The Heat eventually defeated the Celtics in seven games to advance to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

and face the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. In Game 1 of the Finals, Highsmith matched his career high of 18 points, alongside two rebounds and two steals, in a 104–93 loss. The Heat went on to lose the series in 5 games.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

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, 54 , , 11 , , 17.9 , , .431 , , .339 , , .464 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 78 , , 12 , , 15.0 , , .415 , , .331 , , .429 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 3.7

Playoffs

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References

External links

*
Wheeling Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highsmith, Haywood 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Basketball players from Baltimore Crailsheim Merlins players Delaware Blue Coats players Miami Heat players Philadelphia 76ers players Small forwards Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players Wheeling Cardinals men's basketball players