Norman Powell has been everything the Miami Heat need and then some

The Heat’s season is more than two-thirds complete, and few things have gone according to plan. The big ones are that injuries have ruined their continuity, and the defense is suspect.

Yet, there’s been a shining light for the crew, and it’s been first-time All-Star Norman Powell.

His production has been steady as he is having his best season in his 11th year. His time of possession is only 1.9 minutes, tied for fourth on the team with Andrew Wiggins. Both are behind Davion Mitchell (3.8), Jaime Jaquez (3.6) and Bam Adebayo (2.2).

He was supposed to be one of the pieces of a top-notch backcourt, but Tyler Herro has only played in 11 games. Powell has picked up the slack and has carried the team’s offense on many nights, and has even been ahead of Bam Adebayo as the team’s best player.

Powell is 29th in the league in total 3-pointers made (130), but 24 players have logged more games than him. Forty-five percent of his 3-point attempts are open (four to six feet) because defenses overload the lane, and he moves well off the ball. He makes 38.8% of those attempts and 50.6% of his wide-open shots (1.8).

He’s come a long way since being a below-average 3-point shooter at UCLA (31.4 percent). He was later drafted 46th overall after four years there by the Milwaukee Bucks and traded that night to the Toronto Raptors.

His discipline before the combine was high level when in LA, and his training consisted of a 75-minute workout, an hour of plyometrics and agility movement, an hour of weights, then a one-hour break, and a second 75-minute workout.

He’s the youngest of three siblings behind his sisters Joniece and Margaret. Their mother Sharon’s sacrifices and lessons are what Powell credits for making the biggest difference in his life, per the Heat’s 2025-26 media guide.

Before he turned pro, he evaluated himself as a C+ to B-level 3-point shooter. He said that after five years, he wanted to be a key contributor and included that at one point he wanted to be an All-Star.

He spent nearly six years in Toronto, being eighth in playoff minutes on their first and only title team. Kawhi Leonard’s departure after one season in Toronto opened the door for Powell, who made the largest leap of his career and nearly doubled his points per game average to 16.0.

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Yet it wasn’t until he got to the Los Angeles Clippers after 66 games in Portland that he started making waves as an All-Star-level player.

Before arriving in Miami, his longest streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures was 35. He set a new personal record with the Heat at 38, and logged two baskets in the 13 minutes in Sunday's All-Star Game.

But there’s more to Powell than hoops. Being a community role model is also one of his objectives. He used to play at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in San Diego as a kid, and he went back there after winning with the Raptors. On that visit, he told the children, “I think if this wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be where I am today… It's an honor to be back here and talk to you guys and see how excited you guys are in seeing me.”

He hosted his fourth basketball camp the next day free of charge at Lincoln High School, where he attended two blocks away, and it included nearly 600 youngsters. He ran his seventh one in August of 2025, which was seven weeks after getting traded to the Miami Heat. Then, he told KUSI News that it takes a village to raise a child.

At Media Day in September, he said his role as a veteran was to pass down his knowledge in the locker room, and he’s followed through with being a dependable guy in Miami. People on the team look up to him, too. Particularly, second-year big man, Kel’el Ware, who said on Friday that Powell’s given him advice on how to protect his money.

Powell’s contract will be up at season’s end, but he said in the scrum on Saturday that he isn’t thinking about it. He says it’s outside of his control, but that he loves the city and organization and wants to stay because it reminds him a lot of the Raptors.

The Heat managed to get him in a three-team deal by trading Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson, and none of them are averaging more than seven points this season or have been in more than 29 outings.

The Heat knows players like him aren’t normally acquired for such a bargain. If they don't see his value, some team will.