Shane Heal Minnesota Timberwolves 'On Fire' NBA Action

[@dbasto1]

One of the best 3 point shooters I have ever seen, that little guy had unlimited range, I remember him scoring 60 one night in the NBL.

[@stoltobot]

Criminally under-utilised in the NBA

[@dcc1980]

Heal originally signed a three year deal with the Timberwolves. After his rookie year of pretty much sitting on the bench he approached the Timberwolves wanting assurances that he would be given time next year backing up Marbury. Timberwolves management told Heal they were committed to Michael Williams as there back up and agreed to pay Heal's contract out and release him. Heal said that at the time he could never forgive himself if wasted his best years sitting on the bench.

[@fauxtography1018]

Decades ahead of his time, Shane Heal would've kicked off the 3 point era in the NBA long before the splash brothers, were he given a real chance.

[@MrStuartp]

Yep both him and Gaze, born in the wrong era. They would have lit-it up big time in todays NBA.

[@winslowwong9719]

He really paved the way for shooters of today’s era

[@stoltobot]

Hard to believe he was basically sat on in his short stint. He wouldn’t have gone to waste in today’s NBA

[@guitaroso]

Awesome - thanks for putting this up - have been looking for this highlight forever!

[@guitaroso]

Oh, hi me from 12 years ago

[@utubebroadcaster]

Before there was Curry, there was Heal

[@alstan631]

Um no

[@MrFrogbot1]

Before there was Curry, there was Dell Curry

[@markharrison6498]

@@alstan631 he’s just exaggerating mate. Clearly curry’s is on a different planet in terms of ability

[@someguy2972]

@@markharrison6498 Tell me what position Curry finished in 3pt fg % this year?

[@markharrison6498]

@@someguy2972 you realise heal averaged less than 29% in the nba right? Curry might be having his worst year ever but he's still around 40% isn't he? Not trying to be too critical of heal but he's not on the level of curry and other great shooters.

[@chivato1177]

Aussie Legend!

[@bigpapadrew]

i fucking hate shane heal (melbourne tigers supporter here) but as an australian i am all for him. the sad part is, heal could have hit shots like this every night if they gave him the chance. he was that good from behind the line.

[@leechmaster21]

Pretty much, I remember reading the boxscores, anytime he was given any significant minutes he did well, like this game.

[@3hungesrt]

probably the best scorer to ever come out of australia.i think he has the record for most points in single game in aus(NBL)

[@benice4697]

He torched the dream team (3) and stood up to Barkley. Now his daughter is tearing it up. Go watch replay he hit 3s from 10ft behind line like a free throw. Dude can play

[@marquiss1]

Shane...Oh Oh Oh Shane...hahaha...love it!

[@twelve98]

awesome memories!!

[@thisistheendpt2]

Played 1/3 of Marbury's mins and had a better fg% AND scored more pts. WOW.

[@JK-oc9qc]

Is he the one playing in 92 olympics against the Dream Team and hit all thr 3s for Aussies? He was great in that game.

[@ahmadfaisal6267]

Yep 🙌, it was however not in 92 but the 96 world championship warm ups.

[@dcc1980]

Heal said a couple years ago in an interview that he regretted asking the Timberwolves for a release and not giving his NBA career more time to develop.

[@turisas1234]

I wouldn't necessarily consider Heal in the same breadth as Drazen, but the rest of what you said is spot on. What a shame for these amazing athletes who get little to no recognition.

[@SealAngel]

AUSSIE BASKETBALL BABY!!! YEAH!! ARE YOU HEALED? ARE YOU HEALED?...PRAISE THE LORD I'M HEALED?

[@dcc1980]

Technically this wasn't he's only stint in the NBA, he played six games with the San Antonio Spurs before being waived. But yeah agreed, he should of been given more opportunity in the NBA. But he did choose to leave the Timber-wolves on his own accord. The Timberwolves made the play-offs this season, as the seventh seed in the west, so calling them one of the worst is a stretch.

[@elonmartin3294]

Killed it wolves nation

[@leechmaster21]

Yeah Mullin rocked the three's in that game!! In real life too.

[@leechmaster21]

Ahh, I do remember that now that you jogged my memory.

[@giemueluy]

@guitaroso ditto!! oh heal me! are you healed?! are you healed??!!!

[@CStyleRecords]

Shane "Michael Jordan" Heal.

[@Romans8-9]

Same thing happened to Drazen Petrovic, he was basically a benchwarmer for the blazers and underused by the nets until his final few seasons. If Petrovic was American, there is no doubt he would have got his chance much earlier. Now he's considered a legend even though he only had a few seasons as a starter. I don't think its racism more like home country bias. Foreign players always got to put in their dues. At least back in those days anyway.

[@traffic200]

Hammertime @ 26sec!!!!!!!!

[@leechmaster21]

Did he ask for a release? I thought he was only signed for a year and they chose not to re-sign him?

[@yutaichen3]

aussie pride, shane heal will be the head coach for Sydney Kings in 2013.

[@djekna]

there = their, back up = back-up

[@bGzzzzz]

What most Americans don’t understand is that Shane Heal could’ve been the Steph Curry of that era, kickstarting the 3pt reign earlier, if coaches back then had given him the green light.

[@dcc1980]

Heal would then go and shoot 0-8 against the Lakers after this game and would head back to the bench. Still don't want to put a damper on this game, Heal played great.

[@Abbaskip]

dcc1980 0/7 from 3. It wasn't the next game, but a few games later. That Lakers game he got good minutes, and nothing to show for it but a steal and couple of assists. It wasn't his last NBA game but went a long way towards sealing his fate.

[@MrRodzilla]

27% shooter in the nba

[@dbasto1]

Gaze is the best, Heal would be in the top 3 or 4 Aussie playeys ever...A total legend.

[@tommcg1776]

nup, luc longley.

[@zekejones2249]

@@tommcg1776 Yeah nah, Andrew Gaze was a far better player than Luc.

[@tommcg1776]

@@zekejones2249 Luc was on an amazing team, but he was a solid contributor.

[@zekejones2249]

@@tommcg1776 No dispute about that. But most people outside of Australia, dont realise the kind of talent Gaze had, and at a time when like Heal, Australian's were simply overlooked by the NBA, and with the local league (NBL) booming in the late 80s to mid 1990s, they simply came home. Gaze also put a minnow Seton Hall on his back to almost win a NCAA championship in 1989. But he was an absolute giant for his team (Melbourne Tigers) domestically and is probably the greatest basketballer this country has ever produced.

[@Romans8-9]

I never said Heal was Drazen's equal just that they both faced similar obstacles to make it in the NBA as a foreign player. Unfortunately Heal couldn't overcome it.

[@australiafinest]

theres some good australian ballers out there

[@iggyblitz8739]

There are amazing Aussie ballers now days, better than just good, although Shane Heal was an very good player in his time.

[@beegeebad3193]

if he played today he'd be useful

[@iggyblitz8739]

He was very ' useful ' in his day too, a killer in the NBL and represented his country very well, in fact a lot more than useful.

[@beegeebad3193]

@@iggyblitz8739 i mean in the present NBA mate

[@emilycouchman1797]

A lot of people here are acting like Heal was unlucky he didn't have a long, prosperous NBA career, blaming the ignorance of NBA coaches/owners etc. But they forget that this clip was THE highlight of his NBA career. He was always a streaky shooter in the NBL and for the Boomers as well. When he was hot from downtown he looked like a star NBA shooter, but clearly he wasn't consistent with his shooting while he was in the U.S, which is backed up by his poor NBA shooting stats.

[@Romans8-9]

He only got 5 minutes a game in his prime. That´s nowhere near enough time to prove whether he was a good enough shooter or not. In those days it was much tougher for foreign players to make it in the NBA. Case in point, Petrovic was a European legend and it took him years to break into the NBA as a starting player.

[@alexanderthegreat3]

In fact his game was very limited

[@brisvegas859]

if you don't play your best players, don't expect to win any titles

[@benice4697]

If he was American and marketable he would of played. Nba is entertainment not like college ball or even hs.

[@jasonking852]

The yanks were very very snobby to international talent in those days. They still cant accept the fact that the best players in the world don't have to come from the US even today.

[@azza9575]

Had he been giving more paying time Shane would have been the first Steph Curry

[@ghossst84]

@Strat0Blues LOL

[@Normy2323]

Are you healed? 😂

[@rickmack6986]

I know he was somewhat limited defensively in the NBA but it seemed odd this was his only stint, which was for one of the worst teams.

[@leechmaster21]

Him or Andrew Gaze.

[@DroneKingsInDarwin]

Ugly shot. But man it was effective. It don’t matter how it goes in as long as it goes in.

[@basketbolero7500]

he played in the wrong era

[@iggyblitz8739]

Only because foreign players had to prove themselves in the NBA even more back then, and he still had a great career in the NBL and playing for his country.