Former Hoosier Thomas Bryant Agrees to Sign with Miami Heat
Thomas Bryant has signed with the Miami Heat on a two-year, $5.4 million deal after winning the NBA title with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in 2023. The Miami Heat also reached the 2023 NBA Finals.
Bryant was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 42 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and played for the Washington Wizards for four years from 2018-22 while starting in 108 total regular season games.
The former Hoosier averaged a career-best 13.2 points per game during the 2019-20 season and averaged 14.3 points per game during the first 10 games of his 2020-21 NBA campaign before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
Bryant was traded to the Denver Nuggets halfway through the 2022-23 NBA regular season, though he did not receive any significant playing time during the franchise's run to its first ever NBA title.
Incumbent backup center Omer Yurtseven's qualifying offer was declined by the Miami Heat, making the 25 year-old big man an NBA free agent and likely ending his tenure in South Beach.
This combined with fellow Hoosier Cody Zeller leaving Miami for the New Orleans Pelicans in free agency should open up playing time for Bryant as the backup center in Miami behind Bam Adebayo.
The Miami Heat are also the reported favorites to land Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard in an upcoming trade, meaning Bryant will likely see important playing time on one of the NBA's most prominent contenders next season.
Bryant spent two years at Indiana playing for Tom Crean. He averaged 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds during his freshman season in 2015-16, a year where the Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular season title. As a sophomore, he had 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He started all 69 games during his two years at Indiana.
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