“This is Jamal Cain, man,” bellowed Bam Adebayo back in October of last year. “Realize who this is. This is Jamal Cain. He’s going to be in the league for a long time. This is my dawg, man.”
Adebayo’s ringing endorsement of his new rook came on the heels of Cain, then largely an unknown, producing a 15-point, 11-rebound line against the Brooklyn Nets on national TV. Granted, this was during the 2022 preseason, but Jamal had already hit one major milestone at that point in time by making it to the NBA and spending parts of his exhibition season guarding all-time scoring savants such as Kevin Durant.
Cain, a 6’7” forward out of Oakland, went undrafted before joining the HEAT program for his rookie season, inking a two-way contract after strong Summer League and preseason play. Cain would split time between Sioux Falls and the NBA, and in his 25 games with the Skyforce, Cain averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 55.6% from the field and 36.2% from beyond the arc.
Cain also participated in 18 regular season games with the HEAT, setting career-best marks against the Orlando Magic on April 9th, scoring 18 points on 6-7 shooting and a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. In his abbreviated NBA run, Cain maintained similar efficiency, shooting 56.1% from the field and 35.0% from three in the pros.
“I was really encouraged by his improvement this year,” said head coach Erik Spoelstra. “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.”
The competing hasn’t stopped for Cain, who’s now gone through his second tour of duty playing for the HEAT’s Summer League team. Through 5 games split between Sacramento and Las Vegas, Cain has averaged 15.5 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 51.5% from the field, 38.1% from beyond the arc, and 88.2% from the line.
Cain is a rangy athlete who can take off and run for easy baskets off opponent mishaps (1.3 steals per game in Sioux Falls) and has continued to showcase his explosive leaping ability in the past few weeks. But his time with the Skyforce also allowed Jamal to refine his abilities as a self-creator and perimeter shooter. Now, Summer League head coach Caron Butler is challenging the 24-year-old to develop his off-ball game.
“When he was in the G-League, he had the ball in his hand a lot, isolation stuff, a lot of dribbles,” noted coach Butler. “But here, one one-thousand, two one-thousand, getting off of it, playing off better players. He’s learned so much. And he understands where he needs to be from a spacing standpoint on the floor.”
With the ability to play either forward position, Cain fills a need for a group that has always found opportunities for tenacious rim rattlers and has an ample history of downsizing at the power forward position in service of versatility. Additionally, the consistent efficient shooting splits (with the caveat of small samples and multiple leagues, sure) during his brief professional career is an encouraging sign that Cain’s athleticism and range are indeed functional at the pro level.
But Cain recognizes his bones will be made on the defensive end if he wishes to have a fruitful NBA career. He’s focused on harnessing his abilities in order to be able to not only defend the league’s best, but execute in Miami’s demanding system, a cog flowing within the machinery of a unit adept at meshing and flowing in and out of identities to rattle opponents.
“I really want to hone in on the defensive end,” Cain said. “So I want to guard the best players. I want to use my quickness and athleticism to try to be a disruptor. And I want to work on my body and get stronger.”
