After nearly a month away from the team, Miami Heat Assistant Coach Keith Smart returned to the bench Monday night in Oakland as the team took on the Warriors. Smith was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of skin cancer on his cheek, but after a 15 hour surgery he was able to return to normal everyday life.
“It’s an incredibly scary situation and all of us were rocked by it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “His positive attitude and relentless perseverance is so infectious. And even when we first got the news, he said it so matter-of-factly. And it was all about, ‘Well, I’m going to get this, now let’s talk about the game plan,’ while I’m sitting there stunned and shell-shocked. It’s absolutely great to have him back, and even maybe sooner than we would have anticipated when we first heard the news.”
Keith was all smiles in an interview during the teams shootaround. View here: Heat assistant coach Keith Smart returns from rare skin cancer