After former University of Michigan big man Vladislav Goldin went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat scooped him up on a two-way deal.
The decision to take a flier on Goldin has aged well for Miami thus far, as he showed plenty of promise across six games played in Las Vegas Summer League and the California Classic.
One assistant coach for the Heat was particularly enamored with the effort that Goldin consistently played with. Eric Glass said that Goldin “was really good” in Summer League and that he “plays so freakin’ hard.”
“Vlad was really good for us,” Glass said. “He plays so freakin’ hard out there. He plays so physical. You’d like to have him on the floor even longer, but he goes so hard, sometimes he burns himself out. That’s why we love him.”
Being an effective rebounder has a lot to do with exerting the effort needed to secure the ball, and Goldin grabbed at least five rebounds in four of the six games he played this summer.
He capped off his Summer League stint with his best rebounding performance of the six-game span, as he pulled down 10 rebounds in Miami’s July 18 contest against the Milwaukee Bucks.
It takes effort to put the ball through the bottom of the net, too. One of Goldin’s most appealing qualities as a prospect was the great efficiency with which he scored the ball at the college level, and he carried his accuracy over to Summer League.
Across six games, he shot 64.5 percent from the field, though he didn’t show any signs that he’s added a reliable 3-point shot to his repertoire, as he attempted just one 3.
Goldin will look to defy the odds and carve out a long career in the NBA. The Heat are a perfect place to do so, as Goldin can attempt to follow in the footsteps of other successful undrafted players like Heat legend Udonis Haslem.
Haslem went undrafted in the 2002 NBA Draft, yet he played 20 seasons in the league — every one of them with the Heat — and won three titles across his long stint in Miami.
For as auspicious a prospect as Goldin is, there’s a real possibility that he will hardly see the floor for Miami in the coming season.
The Heat have Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware, the latter of whom is on the heels of a strong rookie campaign, to monopolize the majority of available minutes at the center position.
