Delon Wright had ties to the Miami Heat organization even before he recently joined them. In fact, he hung out with some of their players even though he was their opponent in a playoff series.
Back in 2016 while a rookie with the Toronto Raptors, Wright was facing the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals while his brother Dorell was a player with Miami.
“I even hung out with the team — U.D. (Udonis Haslem), D-Wade (Dwyane Wade), my brother, a few of the other guys — when I was on the other team,” Wright said. “… I couldn’t really tell anybody because we were in the middle of a playoff battle.”
Delon Wright said he did draw the line at visiting the Heat family room when his brother’s wife tried to take him there.
“I was like, ‘I don’t think I should be up here right now,'” Delon Wright said. “… I don’t think the Heat organization would like that. … I definitely know that that’s not a good thing to be doin’ in the middle of a playoff battle.”
Dorell Wright did not play for Miami during the 2015-16 regular season but signed with it in April 2016 and took part in their two playoff series. The Raptors and Delon Wright eliminated the Heat with a Game 7 victory and went on to lose the Eastern Conference Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Dorell Wright hasn’t played in the NBA since then, but Delon Wright has continued his career and signed with the Heat earlier this month after being bought out by the Washington Wizards.
The 31-year-old averaged 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 33 appearances for the Wizards this season. Dorell Wright played for the Heat from the 2004-05 season through the 2009-10 campaign.
Delon Wright recently made his Heat debut and afterward, used social media to express his gratitude. He scored 13 points against the Sacramento Kings as he was needed in the starting lineup with Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic and Thomas Bryant serving NBA suspensions and Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier among those unavailable because of injuries.
With Butler, Jovic and Rozier back in action, Delon Wright scored two points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. The 106-96 victory was Miami’s fifth in a row.
The Heat have won nine of 11 games following a seven-game losing streak. They have a 33-25 record and are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference entering their game against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. It is a rematch of the 2023 NBA Finals, which the Nuggets won in five games.
Now, Delon Wright will try to help the Heat get back to the playoffs and make another run at the championship.