Tim Hardaway Jr.: Prayers answered with deal to join Heat - ESPN

MIAMI — Tim Hardaway Jr. always would follow the same routine in his 15 visits to Miami as an opponent. Walk into the arena, take a look into the rafters, gaze at one specific banner.

«Hardaway 10» sways, commemorating his father's time with the Heat and the jersey they retired in Tim Hardaway Sr.'s honor.

«Coming here when I was an opponent, I felt like it gave me a superpower,» Hardaway Jr. said.

It's his jersey now.

The Heat formally introduced part of the family Wednesday, with the 34-year-old Hardaway getting his welcome-back-to-Miami news conference — and getting handed a No. 10 Heat jersey, only this one with «Jr.» after the family surname on the back.

«This is really bizarre,» said Heat president Pat Riley, who coached the elder Hardaway in Miami.

Tim Hardaway Sr. previously said he wouldn't let his retired number come back into circulation for the Heat, noting to WQAM radio in Miami last week: «My legacy is my legacy, and (my son is) doing it his way.»

But Hardaway Jr. told the media Wednesday that things changed after some family discussions.

«I think the first go-round was a personal decision,» he said of his father's initial thoughts. «The second go-round was a family decision.»

The younger Hardaway used to run around the Heat practice floor as a kid while his dad played games or hang out in the family room partaking in video games. As Hardaway Jr. got older, Riley would ask someone on the staff to put him through workouts on the practice court.

That staffer was Erik Spoelstra, now the Heat head coach.

«Things are going to be a little bit more serious now than before,» Hardaway said. «But I mean, I'm very comfortable and confident to be able to go up there and talk to Coach anytime I need some guidance or