Dru Smith led the NBA in steals per 36 (3.2) and steal percentage (4.1) in 2025-26

MIAMI — Oct. 15, 2026 — Dru Smith played 1,141 minutes for the Miami Heat in 2025-26, started one game and averaged 16.3 minutes a night. On Basketball-Reference’s per-36 and per-100 tables, those minutes produced the highest steal rates of any player who cleared 1,000 minutes: 3.2 steals per 36 and 4.1 steals per 100 possessions.

Smith finished with 100 steals in 70 games — 1.4 per game on the box score. Scaled to playing time, he sat alone atop the rate boards. Among players with at least 1,000 minutes, Detroit’s Ausar Thompson was next at 2.8 steals per 36, with Memphis/Utah swingman John Konchar at 2.7 and Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace at 2.6.

A clear gap on the rate boards

Steal percentage, which estimates how often a player records a steal while on the floor, told the same story. Smith’s 4.1 steal percentage led everyone with 1,000-plus minutes. Ausar Thompson’s 3.7 ranked second, Wallace and Konchar tied at 3.5, and Alex Caruso and Javonte Green followed at 3.4. Portland’s Matisse Thybulle posted a higher raw rate in limited time (480 minutes), but he did not clear the 1,000-minute cut used here.

• Steals per 36 (1,000+ minutes): Smith 3.2, Ausar Thompson 2.8, Konchar 2.7, Wallace 2.6, Caruso/Melton/Green 2.5
• Steal percentage (1,000+ minutes): Smith 4.1, Ausar Thompson 3.7, Wallace/Konchar 3.5, Caruso/Green 3.4
• Steals per 100 possessions: Smith 4.1
• Volume: 100 steals in 1,141 minutes across 70 games (1 start)

The distinction from the official steals title matters. Ausar Thompson led the league in steals per game at exactly 2.00 — a qualified volume crown covered separately. Smith’s edge is rate: when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra put him on the floor, he generated takeaways at a level nobody with a four-figure minute total matched.

Bench minutes, starter-level disruption

Smith’s per-game line looks modest until the clock is equalized. He averaged 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals on .415/.295/.829 shooting. Per 36 minutes those numbers become 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.2 steals — a two-way reserve profile that also posted a plus-3.6 defensive box plus-minus and a 110 defensive rating on Basketball-Reference’s per-100 table.

• 2025-26 line: 70 games, 1 start, 16.3 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 turnovers
• Shooting: 135 of 325 (.415), 38 of 129 from three (.295), 87 of 105 free throws (.829)
• Advanced: 4.1 STL%, 14.5 PER, .532 true shooting, 15.2 usage, 3.0 win shares (1.2 offensive, 1.9 defensive)
• On/off flavor: 2.2 BPM, 1.2 VORP, 118 offensive rating / 110 defensive rating per 100 possessions

He turned the ball over 55 times against those 100 steals — nearly two takeaways for every giveaway — while using just 15.2 percent of Miami’s possessions. The Heat asked him to pressure the ball and move it, not to carry the offense.

Why the rate title matters for 2026-27

Miami’s perimeter rotation already features Bam Adebayo’s help defense and Davion Mitchell’s on-ball work. Smith’s 2025-26 season adds a third gear: a 28-year-old reserve who led the league’s 1,000-minute club in both steals per 36 and steal percentage. Whether Spoelstra can free more than 16 minutes a night for that disruption — without trading away the efficiency that came with limited usage — is the open question heading into the new season.