Tim Hardaway Jr. comes home to Miami, with father’s No. 10 waiting
“I thought we hung his number up there?,” Miami Heat president Pat Riley joked while holding up Tim Hardaway Jr.’s new No. 10 jersey, the same number his father wore for the Heat before it was retired by the franchise.
In a recent WQAM appearance, Hardaway Sr., whose No. 10 jersey has hung in the Heat rafters since 2009, said he had no plans to let his son bring the number back down.
Apparently, all it took was a little family pressure.
On Wednesday, Hardaway Jr. held his introductory press conference with the team and explained that, after some family discussion, he will wear his Hall of Fame father’s beloved No. 10 after all.
“I think the first go-round was a personal decision,” Hardaway Jr. said of his father's initial reluctance. “The second go-round was a family decision.”
The 34-year-old signed with Miami after spending last season with the Denver Nuggets, where he averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 40.7% from three-point range.
The move brings Hardaway Jr. back to the city where he grew up, and where his father spent parts of six seasons with the Heat, making two All-Star appearances and helping lead the franchise to the playoffs six times.
He played high school basketball at Miami Palmetto, helping lead the Panthers to a district title in 2010 before going on to Michigan and carving out a lengthy NBA career of his own.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time, since the days driving north on US-1, getting on I-95 and getting off on the exit,” Hardaway Jr. said of his rides to the arena as a child. “There are so many memories about this place. Thankfully, everybody that was working here is still here.”
He spent one season in Denver after previous stops with the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons during his 13-year NBA career.
Hardaway Jr. gives Miami a proven perimeter shooter, something the Heat needed as it reshapes the roster around the interior presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
The fit is especially clear with Adebayo, whose distributing ability and comfort in dribble handoffs can create clean looks for Hardaway Jr. while still giving Miami’s interior stars room to operate.
“It was the right fit, not only for this franchise, but for me personally,” Hardaway Jr. said. “Especially when you have two of the guys out there that definitely need spacing to operate and do what they do best. My job is just to make their life easy, and that’s to knock down shots.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 5:10 PM.