Here’s what the Miami Heat’s medical team does in the off season to get players ready
.jpeg "Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the game against the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami, Fla., on Friday, June 9, 2023. During the off-season, each Heat player gets a personalized off-season conditioning program from the Miami Heat medical team to decrease the risk of injury or reinjury.")
Q. I know the Miami Heat had a great playoff run that unfortunately ended too soon. As the team physician, what are your off-season duties to get ready for next season?
A: It was exciting to be part of a great team experience this year even though we came up a little bit short.
The off season is a busy time for our medical staff. Our first obligation is to perform an exit physical exam on each player. The player receives a cardiology and internal medical exam and routine blood work.
We have a list of all the injuries each player sustained during the season and each receives an orthopedic exam to ensure they are now healthy. Any lingering problem is addressed. We develop a personalized off-season conditioning program for each athlete to decrease the risk of re-injury.
This is also the time for the NBA draft. Each potentially drafted player has received a complete physical including orthopedic exam, cardiology exam, stress test, echocardiogram, blood work, and X-rays/ MRI of any area of concern.
The overall medical condition and risk factors for an NBA career of each player is evaluated by our doctors and reported to our head of scouting. The medical status is then factored into each player’s draft position.
The Miami Heat also fields a summer league team in July to evaluate young talent that competes out west. Any serious injuries will be followed by me in Miami and exit physicals on summer league players will be performed at the conclusion of competition in Las Vegas.
Throughout the summer, our training staff will follow the orthopedic progress of our players rehabbing from injuries and follow the general conditioning for all our players.
Dr. Harlan Selesnick is team physician of the Miami Heat and director of Miami Sports Medicine Fellowship, Doctors Hospital. Send your questions to HarlanS@baptisthealth.net