Tim Hardaway Jr. is heading back to Miami — the city where his father cemented his NBA legacy — after reportedly agreeing to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Heat.
The move brings the younger Hardaway to the franchise where Tim Hardaway Sr. became one of its most iconic players. But while Hardaway Jr. will wear a Heat uniform, he won’t wear the No. 10 jersey hanging above Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center.
That number belongs to his father, and it is staying retired.
“My legacy is my legacy. Even though he likes to wear No. 10, that is not coming down from the rafters,” Tim Hardaway Sr. said on WQAM radio in Miami.
Hardaway Jr. has worn No. 10 throughout his high school and college days and much of his NBA career as a tribute to his father, but the elder Hardaway understands the importance of preserving what the number represents in Miami.
Tim Hardaway Sr. arrived in Miami in February 1996 after being traded from the Golden State Warriors, who selected him 14th overall out of the University of Texas at El Paso in the 1989 NBA Draft. He wore No. 5 as a rookie before switching to No. 10 over his final five seasons with the Warriors. Over those five seasons, he led the team in assists, steals and 3-pointers while ranking second in scoring. After helping lead Golden State’s famed Run TMC era alongside fellow future Hall of Famers Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, Hardaway became the centerpiece of a rising Heat franchise alongside Alonzo Mourning and Jamal Mashburn.
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In 367 regular-season games with Miami (all starts), Hardaway, whose patented crossover was nicknamed the UTEP two-step, averaged 17.3 points and 7.8 assists per game. During his first three full seasons with the Heat, he earned two All-Star selections and three consecutive All-NBA honors, including a First Team nod for the 1996-97 season. That season, in which he averaged team highs in points (20.3), dimes (8.6) and steals (1.9), he finished fourth in MVP voting behind Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Grant Hill. Those 8.6 assists per game set a Heat single-season record, while his 203 made 3-pointers remained a team record until the 2004-05 season.
Across those three seasons, Miami (.696) trailed only the Utah Jazz (.762) in win percentage. Hardaway’s impact helped transform the Heat into a legitimate contender. On Oct. 28, 2009, he became the second player in Heat history to have his number retired, following Mourning. In 2022, Hardaway was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Now, nearly three decades after he joined the Heat, his son will follow in his footsteps and play for the franchise.
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Hardaway Jr. brings a different skill set to Miami, providing veteran leadership and perimeter shooting for a team aiming to contend in the Eastern Conference after acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks. The younger Hardaway, who averaged 13.5 points while shooting 40.7 percent on 3s for the Denver Nuggets last season, will also play alongside Bam Adebayo, who scored 83 points on March 10. With such dominant scorers and versatile playmakers leading the charge, Hardaway Jr.’s floor spacing will be vital to Miami’s offense. The Heat will rely on Antetokounmpo and Adebayo to lock down the paint, leaving Hardaway Jr. to thrive on catch-and-shoot opportunities. He finished fourth with 187 such 3-pointers last season, hitting 42.4 percent of them.
The Hardaways are one of only two NBA father-son duos with at least 10,000 career points and 1,000 3s apiece. The other? Stephen and Dell Curry.
But although Hardaway Sr. is excited to see his son join the Heat, he acknowledges he wants to keep a little something for himself as Hardaway Jr. continues to carve out his own legacy.
“That is tough to do,” the Hall of Fame father further explained, “and when it’s up there, you want (it) to stay up there, and you don’t want nobody to touch it. I love him. I love him. I’m happy for him. I’m living a life, you know. Again, watching him play through college and the NBA, he’d been to three places I’d never been: the Final Four, a championship, and now, he’s going to his hometown team. I never done that, and so, I’m happy that he’s doing it. But no, he can’t wear No. 10.”