Heat's Haywood Highsmith Out 8-10 Weeks After Surgery on Knee Injury

The Miami Heat announced Friday that forward Haywood Highsmith will be out eight-to-10 weeks after undergoing knee surgery.

Highsmith underwent a successful procedure to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee after suffering the injury while training, per the team.

The 28-year-old Highsmith is preparing to enter his sixth NBA season and his fifth as a member of the Heat.

A journeyman out of Division II Wheeling University, Highsmith appeared in five games for the Philadelphia 76ers as an undrafted rookie during the 2018-19 season before spending the next couple of campaigns in the G League and playing professionally in Germany.

During the 2021-22 season, the Heat signed Highsmith to multiple 10-day contracts, and he was impressive enough that they went on to sign him to a three-year deal.

Highsmith's role in Miami has continued to grow over the past four seasons, and in 2024-25 he set career highs in games played (74), starts (42) and minutes per game (24.6).

He also averaged a career-high 6.5 points, 1.5 assists and 1.2 three-pointers per game to go along with 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Highsmith raised his level of play during the playoffs last season as well, averaging 7.3 points per game on 57.9 percent shooting and 1.8 three-pointers made per contest on 46.7 percent shooting from deep as part of a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Heat barely made the playoffs last season as the No. 8 seed after finishing a disappointing 37-45 during the regular season, but there is reason to believe they could rebound in 2025-26.

Miami returns a pair of recent All-Stars in guard Tyler Herro and center Bam Adebayo, plus it will get a full season out of wing Andrew Wiggins after acquiring him from the Golden State Warriors last season, and it added guard Norman Powell in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.

On top of that, center Kel'el Ware should have an expanded role after impressing as a rookie last season.

While Highsmith started over half of the Heat's games last season, he may be trending toward being Miami's sixth man during the upcoming season, which is a role he could thrive in.

Highsmith is the type of 3-and-D forward that NBA teams are always in the market for, and it essentially ensures he will have an important role with the Heat when healthy.

A return timeline of eight-to-10 weeks suggests Highsmith could return at any time from around Oct. 3 to Oct. 17, which means he should be back in time for the start of the regular season if all goes well.

However, if his recovery takes longer than expected, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jović and Simone Fontecchio could be in for expanded roles early in the 2025-26 season.