In the grand scheme of an unforgettable HEAT season that culminated in an NBA Finals appearance, a mid-November matchup against the Washington Wizards may not be one of the first things anyone remembers. But this game was notable for a few reasons. Due to a variety of injuries, Miami had only eight players active and played only seven that night, starting a lineup of Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, Haywood Highsmith and Nikola Jović. The veteran Lowry aside, this was a unit with few NBA years under their belts.
And their bench? That would be both of their 2022-2023 two-way contract players, rookies Orlando Robinson and Jamal Cain.
Now Robinson was no stranger to the HEAT as he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the team in July of 2022 and participated in the team’s Summer League program, but Robinson was waived by the HEAT in October before getting the call to rejoin on November 13th. Just five days later, Robinson was asked to play 32 minutes in his NBA debut and spend time defending 7’3” Kristaps Porzingis, a one-time All-Star, in a game that, of course, went into overtime. Robinson more than held his own, putting up 14 points on 6-10 shooting to go with 7 rebounds and a blocked shot.
There were a few warts, primarily that Robinson committed five fouls as he adjusted to the speed of the NBA for the first time, but all in all, it was as impressive a debut as any HEAT rookie has had in recent memory. Perhaps also of note, Robinson attempted a pair of three-point shots in his debut, including a corner attempt with 32 seconds left in regulation and Miami leading 104-101.
Had that shot gone in, Miami almost assuredly comes away with a victory. Instead, the HEAT ended up losing the game 107-106 in OT as the heavy minutes required of everyone available seemed to take its toll (69 first-half points; 37 points in the second half + OT). But nearly taking down a full-strength Wizards team with Lowry (who played nearly 51 minutes and posted his only triple-double of the season) and a slew of young and largely undrafted players was quintessential HEAT.
Robinson was waived two weeks later but brought back in December, this time for the balance of the season on a two-way deal, and continued to contribute in spot minutes for the HEAT as a backup center. In a December 26th matchup against the three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Robinson outplayed his matchup, scoring a season-best 15 points, snagging 9 boards (7 offensive) and dishing out 4 dimes to boot as the HEAT won 113-110.
"He's very steady. Everybody is coaching him, teaching him, screaming at him, yelling at him, directing him and everything in between,” said head coach Erik Spoelstra after the victory in December. “He's very stable. He can take the information, process it and apply it. He really works every single day to be able to produce and be ready for these moments."
In total, the 6’11” big man played in 31 regular season games as a rookie in the NBA and spent another 16 playing for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he put up gaudy averages of 21.2 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 53.7% from the floor.
Now prepping for year two, Robinson is currently participating in his second Summer League with the HEAT club. In his opening game against the Los Angeles Lakers in Sacramento, Robinson started and put up 13 points and 8 rebounds. But what stuck out most was that Robinson let it fly from the perimeter and hit 2-3 shots from beyond the arc. A few days later at the Las Vegas portion of Summer League, Robinson exploded for 36 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and a pair of blocked shots against the Boston Celtics. He did it both inside and out, shooting 13-22 from the field, 7-8 from the foul line, and a sizzling 3-4 from three.
After his NBA debut last year, Robinson would take only four other three-point attempts the rest of the season, missing all of them, so to see not only the improvement but the willingness to shoot has been a welcome sight.
“We’ve been talking a lot about Orlando’s spacing on the floor,” HEAT Summer League head coach Caron Butler said. “His assessment test has been off the charts, so you’re going to see him in different regions of the floor.”
While it might be a bit ambitious to project Orlando shooting from outside at high volume like his big man teammate Kevin Love next year, Robinson’s willingness to adapt and expand his game has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff. Indeed, Robinson was offered a standard contract on July 1 and expects to compete for the backup center role moving forward.
“I started getting really excited because obviously, this is what I’ve been working toward all last year and my entire life,” Robinson said after learning of the deal.
Robinson has touted the hours of behind-the-scenes work he and the staff have worked towards, and he’s hopeful his second year in the NBA allows him to show off a more well-rounded game.
“I would say that my game has gotten better in the areas of playing off the ball,” Robinson said. “Now I’m more aware, I know where to go in certain situations, drives, kicks. Because before, I felt like I wasn’t really an off-the-ball player, I was more mainly on the ball. So just adding the off-the-ball part of my game to what I already have had kind of completed me in a sense.”