Norman Powell has been a vibe-changer, not just a point-scorer

Even after an emphatic finish from Andrew Wiggins to win the game at the buzzer against the Cleveland Cavaliers, it didn't take long for him to start hyping up the presence of Norman Powell to start this season.

"We're a different team than last year, mentally, physically we're a different team," Wiggins stated postgame. "Norman was the best thing this summer. He was definitely the best thing of the summer. You can see what he's doing. Special type of talent, great leader."

Powell is off to a hot start in a Miami Heat uniform. A 6-2 record when he plays, averaging 24.5 points a night, and shooting over 45% from three point land.

Norman Powell so far this season:

- 24.5 points a game

- 46% shooting overall

- 45.8% from three

- 8 free throw attempts a night

Couldn’t have a better start to his Heat career pic.twitter.com/HkD6NNKrde
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) November 11, 2025

Everybody knows that Powell is a special scorer, but even one of his teammates was a little surprised by just how good.

When Nikola Jovic was asked if anything about Powell's game has surprised him since joining the Heat, he said it's simply: "How good of a scorer he is."

I asked Niko if there’s anything that has surprised him about Norman Powell:

“How good of a scorer he is.” pic.twitter.com/KJS2hezKm4
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) November 11, 2025

"He will start a game like today, miss his first three shots then you look up in the third quarter and he has 25-26 points," Jovic continued. "How easily he scores. Not many dribbles, not forcing a lot of stuff, just a pure scorer."

That's really the key part of Powell's scoring success. It's just so condensed. It's either a catch and fire without a ton of space, or a limited amount of dribbles into a rim attack or kick-out. He rarely holds onto that ball for long, and it fits into this new ball movement system.

It's not easy to limit dribbles and still find a way to get to the free throw line at such a high rate. He's getting to the line 8 times a night at the moment, and it's pretty much all coming from his perimeter gravity.

He finds a way to feel the hand activity of his defender, and wrap him up as he gets into that shooting motion from anywhere. Almost seems like a perk of playing next to James Harden for some time.

Even more than just his on-court ability, he's bringing a different version of leadership.

"He's been very local from the jump," Jaime Jaquez Jr said while sitting next to Powell at the podium postgame. "He came in here as the oldest guy on the team, and he's made that known."

He may feel like the oldest guy on the team off the floor as a leader, but he most definitely doesn't look like it on the court. He's always moving, continues to benefit from this up the court style, and shows up big whenever the Heat need him late.

Powell is getting a ton of love from the Miami Heat fanbase to start this year, but he's getting even more credit from his Miami Heat teammates.

The vibes are shifting, and this locker room needed it.