WIth the NBA season starting to inch closer, several teams are looking to solidify their roster, locking up numerous players to fill their last few roster spots.
It's always nice to see former Mizzou ball players make in impact in any league, after their career as a Tiger concludes. With the number of talented players on the roster year after year, its no shock to see a multi-year deal get done with a former guard.
OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have re-signed guard Dru Smith. pic.twitter.com/C4JuX4hrMD
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) August 16, 2025
Dru Smith is a former guard of the Tigers, who fans and coaches alike seriously watched grow up as a player throughout his two seasons in black and gold.
Smith played his initial pair of seasons for Evansville, his home town in Indiana, and saw extreme improvement from his freshman to sophomore year. After starting just 8 of his 28 games as a freshman, he saw action in all 22 the next, starting all.
He nearly tripled his points per game as a sophomore, while also raising his field goal percentage to 58% from 45%, and his three-point percentage from 32% to 48%.
He did all of this while also capturing 5 rebounds, dishing 4 assists, and grabbing 2 steals a night. He really caught the eyes of recruiters from big-name schools, and decided to transfer to Columbia ahead of the 2019-20 campaign.
While he was a Tiger, he started all 57 games that he appeared in, and got even better as a player, averaging upwards of 15 points per contest as a senior. Even with his impressive efforts as a passer and rebounder, what scouts of the next level really loved was his defensive presence.
Smith is an incredible defender around the perimeter, and even with a smaller 6-foot-2 height, his ability to guard inside the paint is strong. He finished his senior season with fantastic court awareness, and was atop the SEC with over 2 steals a night.
Last season, the guard appeared in only 14 games for the Miami Heat, his second stint with the team after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets during the 2022-23 season.
His season was cut extremely short when he tore his Achilles tendon in late December. It comes in the form of the second-straight season ending injury for Smith, as he tore his ACL nine games into the 2023-24 campaign.
Prior to his injury, Smith averaged 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and remained at 2 steals per game. Meanwhile, he shot 51% from the field and 53% from deep.
Even with his injury history, the Heat clearly have faith in Smith as a player, made clear with a three-year deal, worth nearly $8 million. Miami seems to be confident that he'll be ready for the season, playing just as good ball as he was before his injury.
The former Tiger guard will look to seriously break into a young Heat rotation, with the NBA season starting up in just over two months.