Free agent Tim Hardaway Jr. is headed to the Miami Heat and brings three-point shooting prowess to a revamped team built around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The only thing he won’t have is No. 10, the jersey number he wore in college and for parts of his NBA career.
The reason: His father, Tim Hardaway Sr., said he wouldn’t allow his retired number to come back into circulation for the Heat.
“My legacy is my legacy and he does it his way. Even though he likes to wear 10, he likes to wear 10, it’s not coming down from the rafters,” Tim Hardaway Sr. told WQAM radio in Miami on Wednesday.
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Hardaway Sr. played for the Heat for five seasons from 1996 to 2001. A two-time All-Star for Miami, he was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1997 and Second Team in 1998 and 1999.
No one has worn No. 10 since he left Miami after being traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2001, and the Heat retired his jersey in October 2009.
Hardaway Jr. has agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Heat, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday.
He’s had to deal with jersey conflicts before, as No. 10 was retired by the New York Knicks (Walt Frazier) and Detroit Pistons (Dennis Rodman). With the Heat, Hardaway is expected to wear No. 11, which he also wore for part of his time with the Mavericks.
And Hardaway Sr. said he has no intention of changing his mind about making No. 10 available.
“It’s hard to do,” Hardaway Sr. told WQAM, “and once it’s there, you want it to stay there and you don’t want anyone to touch it. I love him. I love him to death. I’m happy for him… Now he’s going to his hometown team. I’ve never done this, so I’m glad he does it. But no, he can’t wear number 10.”