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Dru Smith

Miami Heat · #12 · Rotation
PG6'2"200 lbage 284 yrs expMissouriEvansville, IN
6th best of 12 on MIAworth +1.9 wins to the rotation
OFF69DEF90
Elite perimeter defender & rim protector
MIA
Miami Heat
Eastern · Southeast · proj. 54-28 (▲+14.6)
→

An elite point-of-attack pest — a perfect 100th-percentile perimeter defender who racks up steals (1.4 a night) and gets into ballhandlers. He's not a scoring threat (5.6 points, 29.5% from three) and the offense is strictly connective, but the defensive playmaking and a surprisingly strong 2.2 BPM make him a valuable end-of-bench irritant.

5.6
PPG
2.5
RPG
2.6
APG
1.4
SPG
0.3
BPG
GP 70MPG 16.3FG% 41.53P% 29.5FT% 82.9TS% 53.2USG% 15.2PER 14.5BPM +2.2VORP 1.2
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Perimeter defense99
Rim protection91
Playmaking87
Rebounding86
Shooting67
Inside finishing66
Scoring58

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2022-23 to 2025-26 · 4 seasons
5.2
PPG
2.3
RPG
2.2
APG
108
GAMES
Points 565Win Shares 4.3Starts 3Best season 2025-26 · 5.6 ppg
Games played, last three seasons38%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 26 → 28
▲Rising

Dru, at 28, is on a clear upward trajectory — 1.4 → 3.4 wins of value over the window.

2026-27 forecast▲ 4.4 wins (+0.9)
Starts from his player rating, which is higher than last season's total. Age takes about 0.1 wins off at 29. Range 3.2–5.5 wins.
Production (BPM)+1.4 → +2.2+0.826-27 forecast +2.0
His production has held roughly steady.
2023-24: +1.4 · 9 games2024-25: +2.1 · 14 games2025-26: +2.2 · 70 games2026-27: +2.0 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)1.4 → 3.4+2.026-27 forecast 4.4
He's worth more wins to a team than he was.
2023-24: 1.4 · 9 games2024-25: 1.7 · 14 games2025-26: 3.4 · 70 games2026-27: 4.4 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $11.8M vs $2.6M salary+$9.3M
His play is projected to be worth more than he is paid.
$2.6M salary2023-24: $3.4M · 9 games2024-25: $4.1M · 14 games2025-26: $7.9M · 70 games2026-27: $11.8M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $2,584,539 cap hit · through '28. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$2,584,539Guaranteed
1% of the club’s payroll · 9th of 12 priced deals
Runs through2 seasons
Est. market value$11,845,225 /yr
Surplus+$9,260,686
BARGAINworth more than he is paid

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.