Getty Kyle Guy defends Lou Williams during a game between the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks.
The Miami Heat may have run into a Game 7 roadblock on their path to the NBA Finals last season but, make no mistake about it, 2021-22 was a campaign to remember for the South Beach crew.
There were multiple stories for Heat Nation to get behind throughout the year. Jimmy Butler cemented his superstar status, Tyler Herro emerged as one of the game’s deadliest scorers and Victor Oladipo made a triumphant return from the scrap heap, to name just a few.
However, the biggest story may have been the club’s improbable march to the East’s No. 1 seed, which was aided in no small part by the bench guys, two-way ballers and hardship signees who helped keep the ship afloat when injuries and COVID-19 reared their ugly heads.
One of those unlikely heroes was guard Kyle Guy, who emerged from the ether to help Miami win some games last winter. Flash forward to now, and Guy looks to have found a new spot to ply his trade next season.
Guy Goes to Europe
Per an announcement from the team on Friday, Guy has put pen to paper on a deal with Joventut Badalona. The Catalan club finished 22-12 in Liga ACB competition last season before losing to FC Barcelona in the league semifinal round.
The 24-year-old Guy was a second-round pick of the New York Knicks in 2019 after finishing his collegiate career at Virginia as an NCAA Tourney hero and national champion. He was then traded to the Sacramento Kings, with whom he spent the next two seasons as a two-way player.
After leaving Sacto, he began last season with the G League’s Cleveland Charge as an affiliate player. But when the Heat were stricken by a Covid outbreak in late December, he returned to the Association on a 10-day contract via the hardship exemption.
It didn’t take long for him to make an impact, either. In his very first game with Miami, Guy dropped 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and added four dimes, four boards and three steals to lead the team to a double-digit win over the Houston Rockets.
The latest Heat news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Heat newsletter here!
NBA Prospects
All told, Guy appeared in 19 games for Miami, averaging 3.9 points in 9.8 minutes per game and shooting 35% from deep. His play impressed to the point that it netted him a second 10-day deal and, later, a two-way contract. Alas, the team elected to waive him in March to make room for the since-released Mychal Mulder.
Still, there’s a chance that he could find himself back in the big league at some point in the not-so-distant future.
Although he lacks size at 6-1 and around 170 pounds, he has NBA-level chops as a shooter. During his three-year run at Virginia, he connected on 42.5% of his 5.6 three-point attempts per game and he was an 80.6% foul shooter. And he had two games of four triples this past season with the Heat.
READ NEXT: