Player Recap: Jamal Cain

Jamal Cain fits the mold of recent Miami HEAT success stories; undrafted to Summer League standout, and now a full season under his belt as a two-way player.

What started as an impactful energy role led to a game winning three-point shot in the Western Conference Semifinals.

"Jamal just continues to improve," Miami HEAT head coach Erik Spoelstra said in late November on Cain's growth. "He has a great spirt about him. He comes in every day with a great attitude to work. You can't give him enough work  or enough projects or enough things to try to improve."

Cain showed incremental growth on both sides of the floor this season for the Skyforce. That started in the 2022 NBA Summer League, where his hustle and knack for detail earned him a training camp invite by the Miami HEAT.

By the time camp started, Cain would go on to earn a two-way spot, and never looked back. In three consecutive preseason games, Cain posted 15-plus points and six-plus rebounds and seven steals in the final two games of the stretch.

That would be the foundation for his rookie season with the Skyforce.

He showed what he did all throughout Summer League and training camp in his Sioux Falls debut: extra efforts and a passion for attacking the glass. In the season opener, he posted 17 points and 13 rebounds, eight of which were offensive. He followed that up with 23 points and eight rebounds the next day against Iowa. His 13 offensive rebounds in the first two games of the season were the most to start a season in the NBA G League era for Sioux Falls.

Cain and the Force found their groove in the rest of the Showcase Cup, as they'd win eight-straight with Jamal. He averaged 18.1 points on 56.9 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per 31.7 minutes a game. Cain wrapped up the Showcase Cup with a 32-point (12-20 FGA) and eight-rebound performance in a victory over the Greensboro Swarm on Dec. 20.

His offensive growth would show in the regular season. Nine of 15 appearances saw games of 20-plus points scored, and he only scored under 19 points just four times. Spoelstra reiterated that sentiment.

“I was really encouraged by his improvement this year,” he said. “He has great spirit about him. Every single day he comes in with a smile on his face. He loves to work. He loves to compete.”

Much like the Showcase Cup, Cain started the regular season with games of 17, 12 and 14 rebounds. On Jan. 17, he had a then-career-high of 36 points on 12-21 FGA (14 rebounds).

Down the stretch, while the Force was looking to make a playoff push, Cain erupted for a career-high 38 points on 11-18 FGA, 10 rebounds and four assists against G League Ignite. Two games later he had 32 points on 12-17 FGA in a road victory at Stockton. Sioux Falls would go 10-5 with Cain activated and won its last five games to secure a playoff berth. He finished the regular season with 22.1 points on 54.9 percent shooting, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per 33.5 minutes a game.

“It’s been great having them,” Skyforce head coach Kasib Powell said of his two-way players. “They have a great work ethic and want to get better. The timing of them coming together on this last road trip gave us a boost. They’re faces that we recognize. They’ve been in the Summer League and G League grind. They want to be here and want to win. We love to have them and consider them ‘our guys’. They come (from Miami) and mesh perfectly and are here for one common goal. You couldn’t ask for anything more from each of them.”

Cain played a pivotal role in the run to the Western Conference finals, combining for 34 points on 13-25 FGA (4-10 3PA) and 15 rebounds in the team's two playoff victories.

Down 95-97 with 31.3 seconds remaining to the first-seeded Stockton Kings on the road, Cain buried a three-pointer that would sent Sioux Falls just a game away from the NBA G League Finals.

"We were very confident in the shot Jamal took," Powell said. "As soon as it left his hands, we all thought it was going in. We were happy that he was open to take that shot. At that moment, we didn't want the ball in anybody else's hands. It was a quick turn around because we had to worry about making a couple stops on the defensive end. It was a tough game, but we were beyond happy that Cain made that shot."

In 18 games for the HEAT this season, Cain averaged 5.4 points on 56.1 percent shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per 13.3 minutes a game, which he posted an NBA career-high of 18 points on 6-7 FGA and five rebounds in a victory over the Orlando Magic on Apr. 9.

Like his two-way counterpart Orlando Robinson, Cain and all two-way players are inactive for playoff minutes. He has used the opportunity to be a part of an NBA playoff run, one where the HEAT defeated the first seeded Milwaukee Bucks in just five games.

“Still working out,” he said. “Still getting better. Trying to help them on scout team. Just learning as much as I can and just soaking in this playoff basketball energy. Because I feel like one day it’s going to come that I need to play in these type of environments, so I need to get a front-row seat at it.”

It won't be a 'front row seat' for much longer. Like Oladipo and Adebayo said above, the potential is there for Cain to make an impact for a long time at the NBA level.