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.
How the Heat pulled off a heist for Giannis
Esfandiar Baraheni
{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”@id”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/video/sHGJop76tgRYNLN/”,”url”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/video/sHGJop76tgRYNLN/”,”name”:”How the Heat pulled off a heist for Giannis”,”description”:”Esfandiar Baraheni breaks down the trade the sends Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. “,”uploadDate”:”2026-06-23T17:20:09.711Z”,”duration”:”PT3M”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https://cdn-media.theathletic.com/video-stream/auto-thumbnail/sHGJop76tgRYNLN/doZ6wafq4S1i.0000000.jpg”,”contentUrl”:”https://video.nyt.com/athletic/streams/sHGJop76tgRYNLN/doZ6wafq4S1i/doZ6wafq4S1i.m3u8″,”transcript”:”Did you notice the Miami Heat pulled off a heist to get Giannis Anntokopo? The full haul that the Milwaukee Bucks got for the former two-time MVP sounds like a lot. Tyler Hero, Jae Haquez, Kahalel Ware, Casperis Yakohoni, three first-round picks, including the 13th pick in the 2026 draft, one pick swap, and a second-round pick for Giannis and Bobby Portis. From the Bucks’ perspective, none of these players are good enough to be your franchise cornerstone. The hometown kid hero is expiring contract that they either have to resign or trade for more assets down the road. The big piece of the pie here for the Bucks are the picks that they got. And while those picks have a chance to be good, it’s hard to bet against the team that just acquired Giannis and rarely, if ever, tanks. The Heat have had just 4 lottery picks in the last 15 seasons. Pat Riley and the Heat organization never throw the towel in, and so those picks, even that far away, might not have. As much value as they would if they were from a different organization. And to further that point, the Bucks don’t control their picks from 2027 to 2030, which makes this trade even more confusing for a team that just made a rebuilding move. Not having talent, not controlling your future picks, it’s a dangerous position to be in if you’re the Bucks, even if you feel like there are a lot of pieces in this trade. And for the Miami Heat, this is them definitively. choosing a direction. After trading Jimmy Butler, the Heat had been stuck in limbo in the middle of the Eastern Conference. And now with Bam Adebayo and Giannis, they have a core worthy of building a championship roster around. It’s not a perfect team. The Heat still need to re-sign Norm Powell this summer and try to add shooting and ball handling to a team that doesn’t have much money to work with. And while the addition of Portis gives them some assurance in the front court, their lack of depth is jarring, and in many ways, they The Heat will have to try and build out their roster from scratch, but they can do that with a player that can lead them to a championship at the center of it all. Giannis. Amid all the trade rumors, what has been lost is just how good of a player Giannis Antetokopo is when he’s healthy. He was top five in MVP voting from 2019 to 2025 and has averaged 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists for the last eight seasons. Those type of players don’t just grow on. Breeze. And while it’s true that the 31-year-old has dealt with injuries the last few seasons and is entering the second half of his career, betting on Giannis instead of toiling in mediocrity is well worth the risk for the Miami Heat. It won’t be easy. It might not even get them to that elusive championship, but the Miami Heat got substantially better after this trade by getting one of the best players in the world without giving up anything of true consequence. That is as big of a win as you can get.”,”ineligibleRegion”:[“BI”,”BY”,”CD”,”CF”,”CU”,”IQ”,”IR”,”KP”,”LB”,”LY”,”ML”,”NI”,”RU”,”SD”,”SO”,”SS”,”SY”,”UA”,”VE”,”YE”,”ZW”],”publisher”:{“@type”:”NewsMediaOrganization”,”@id”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/#publisher”,”name”:”The Athletic”,”url”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/”,”foundingDate”:”2016-01-25″,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”@id”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”url”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”contentUrl”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”creditText”:”The Athletic”,”height”:”60″,”width”:”435″},”publishingPrinciples”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/edit-guidelines/”,”sameAs”:”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Athletic”},”author”:[{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Esfandiar Baraheni”}]}
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.
Giannis is headed to Miami. What will be his legacy in Milwaukee?
Eric Nehm and Johnny Sweet
{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”@id”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/video/NWUOjJAtNhEECsG/”,”url”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/video/NWUOjJAtNhEECsG/”,”name”:”Giannis is headed to Miami. What will be his legacy in Milwaukee?”,”description”:”Eric Nehm describes the legacy Giannis leaves behind in Milwaukee following the blockbuster trade that recently sent him to the Miami Heat. “,”uploadDate”:”2026-06-23T12:40:41.909Z”,”duration”:”PT1M18S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https://cdn-media.theathletic.com/video-stream/auto-thumbnail/NWUOjJAtNhEECsG/0gyF4BrbOz8q.0000000.jpg”,”contentUrl”:”https://video.nyt.com/athletic/streams/NWUOjJAtNhEECsG/0gyF4BrbOz8q/0gyF4BrbOz8q.m3u8″,”transcript”:”It’s hard to believe, but now that guy, Giannis Daumbo is no longer a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. I’m Eric Namm. I cover the Bucks here at the Athletic. I’ve covered Giannis and the Bucks for all 8 years that I’ve been at the Athletic, and now Giannis is going to be playing for a different team. It is, it’s tough to imagine him wearing any other jersey than that one right there. That jersey that he wore when he won his two NBA MVPs, when he went to 10 straight All-Star games, when he was named All NBA 9 times, when he won a championship in 2021, going down that road right there, that’s the championship parade. The championship parade went right down that road, went right past this building. That mural was not up at the time, but it is now, and it speaks to what his legacy will be here in Milwaukee. He is beloved. Loved in this city. He is the greatest player in franchise history. I know sometimes people get mad when I say that because of what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was able to do in Milwaukee, but that is the all-time statistical leader in every major statistical category. Giannis Deakumbo, no longer a member of the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s honestly hard to believe, and it’s going to be unusual to see him in a different jersey, but his time in Milwaukee is now up.”,”ineligibleRegion”:[“BI”,”BY”,”CD”,”CF”,”CU”,”IQ”,”IR”,”KP”,”LB”,”LY”,”ML”,”NI”,”RU”,”SD”,”SO”,”SS”,”SY”,”UA”,”VE”,”YE”,”ZW”],”publisher”:{“@type”:”NewsMediaOrganization”,”@id”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/#publisher”,”name”:”The Athletic”,”url”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/”,”foundingDate”:”2016-01-25″,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”@id”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”url”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”contentUrl”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”creditText”:”The Athletic”,”height”:”60″,”width”:”435″},”publishingPrinciples”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/edit-guidelines/”,”sameAs”:”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Athletic”},”author”:[{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Eric Nehm and Johnny Sweet”}]}
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.
a.showcase-link-container {
display: flex;
gap: 20px;
flex-direction: column;
align-items: center;
padding: 20px 0px;
border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);
text-decoration: none;
color: #121212;
cursor: pointer;
.showcase-link {
font-family: nyt-franklin;
font-size: 14px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 13.8px;
letter-spacing: 1.1px;
text-transform: uppercase;
}
.showcase-link-image {
border-radius: 8px;
object-fit: cover;
width: 200px;
height: 150px;
margin: 0px;
@media (max-width: 600px) {
width: 120px;
height: 120px;
}
}
.showcase-link-inner-content {
display: flex;
flex-direction: row;
gap: 16px;
width: 100%;
}
.showcase-link-text-content {
display: flex;
flex-direction: column;
gap: 20px;
justify-content: center;
@media (max-width: 600px) {
gap: 8px;
}
}
.showcase-link-title {
font-family: nyt-cheltenham;
font-size: 24px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 500;
line-height: 120%; /* 24px */
letter-spacing: 0.01px;
text-overflow: ellipsis;
overflow: hidden;
display: -webkit-box;
-webkit-box-orient: vertical;
-webkit-line-clamp: 3;
@media (max-width: 600px) {
font-size: 16px;
}
}
.showcase-link-excerpt {
font-family: nyt-imperial;
font-size: 16px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: 400;
line-height: 139%; /* 19.46px */
color: #323232;
text-overflow: ellipsis;
overflow: hidden;
display: -webkit-box;
-webkit-box-orient: vertical;
-webkit-line-clamp: 4;
@media (max-width: 600px) {
font-size: 12px;
line-height: 121%;
}
}
}
.showcase-link-inputs {
.showcase-link-input {
width: 100%;
font-size: 1rem;
background-color: white;
margin-bottom: 12px;
}
.showcase-link-indent {
margin-left: 25px;
}
option {
width: 100%;
}
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
.native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {
background-color: #121212;
color: #f0f0ee;
.showcase-link-excerpt {
color: #c4c4c0;
}
}
}
// Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click
document.querySelectorAll(‘.showcase-link-image’).forEach((img) => img.removeAttribute(‘onclick’));
What You Should Read Next
Initial reaction to Jaylen Brown trade, East outlook and would you have done this deal?
It’s not a huge surprise that the Celtics traded the former NBA Finals MVP, but what the Celtics got in return is certainly unexpected.
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.”