Cashad Johnson remains motivated to participate in All-Star weekend

The Miami Heat The front office has a penchant for finding undrafted players and developing them into solid NBA contributors. Among their latest developmental projects is Keshad Johnson who was recently selected to represent the Heat during All-Star weekend.

Johnson was among the principals for AT&T Slam dunk contest, winner in the final round against San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant. While his dunks were impressive, a big part of what made his appearances memorable was his style and flair.

A native of Oakland, California, Johnson reached back to his roots to improve his showing. His first dunk featured a Bay Area music legend E-40, and he broke into a dance after each of his dunks. Being on the big stage as part of All-Star Saturday night was a huge blessing for him.

Behind the scenes footage of Cashad Johnson practicing his dunk with the E-40 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pHVikIzBCS

— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) February 22, 2026

“It’s a blessing from God just to be here and be able to showcase my God-given talent in my own way of art and all that,” Johnson told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “I grew up going to slam dunk contests my whole life. That’s always been my favorite part of All-Star weekend. To actually be a part of it and go through the weekend among the other greats and stars, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

As for the dunk contest, there has been countless discourses in NBA circles and among fans and social media outlets about how the event has fallen from its perch in recent years. And it’s true, since a lot of dunks have already been done over the years, all the additions Johnson brings are key to being able to carry the show.

His mentality was just to make sure he made his performance memorable in any way he could. With the NBA’s big-name players avoiding the dunk contest, his goal was to do enough to make his night one that everyone watching would remember.

“I’m just going out there and mostly just looking to make a statement, make sure people know who I am after I leave for the weekend. I’m one of the guys that, along with a lot of fans, want to see a lot of superstars in the slam dunk contest,” Johnson said. “For whatever reason the superstars … don’t go to the dunk contest, I don’t really know. I can’t speak to that. Of course we all want to see those guys go through it.”

“But I guess those guys like to turn down an opportunity,” Johnson continued. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m somebody who’s still trying to get on the radar and show people who I am. I can’t guess. I’ve got to show everybody who I am. I’ve got to take the opportunity and make the most of it.”

Opportunity doesn’t always knock twice. With so many views of the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest, there’s a good chance that casual fans walked away knowing exactly who Cashad Johnson is.

“The world is watching. The whole world is watching if it’s just the general NBA public, not even fans who don’t know anything about basketball,” Johnson said. “Especially after the Super Bowl. Football is down, and now it’s basketball.”

Cashad Johnson’s opportunity with the Heat

Despite playing a key role during San Diego State’s run to the 2023 NCAA National Championship Game, and putting up career numbers during his final season of college basketball at Arizona, Cashad Johnson went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft.

In the days following the draft, the Heat thought enough of Johnson to immediately sign him to a two-way contract. He was one of the standout teams during the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and the California Classic. In fact, the Heat were impressed enough with Johnson’s play that they turned its two-way contract into a standard deal only about two months into his rookie season.

The ‘Heat Culture’ has become notorious throughout the NBA, and for Johnson, he has learned that the fastest way to get playing time in the league is to simply do what is asked of him. He knew he wasn’t going to be a superstar, but needed to see how he could best fit in with the team’s best players.

“I feel like I have to embody the ‘Heat Culture.’ I feel like I have to show the coaches that they can trust me to go out there and do whatever it takes just for my team to win,” Johnson said. “Everybody has a superstar. I have to step in where I fit in and do whatever it takes.”

Johnson’s playing time since joining the Heat has varied. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games during the 2024-25 season with just over six minutes per game. This season, he surpassed that with 23 games played, with slightly more playing time of seven minutes per game.

Over the past two seasons, he is averaging 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent from the field, 32 percent from the 3-point line and 65.4 percent from the free throw line. His best game to date came at the end of his freshman year when he dropped 17 points in a close loss to the Washington Wizards.

But it’s not so much about the numbers that the Heat coaching staff is looking for when Johnson is on the court. Small things add up to victory.

“The coaching staff was looking for energy and effort,” Johnson said. “Energy and effort serve a lot. That’s who I am, that’s the identity I want to have. Someone who serves energy and effort.”

When Johnson was still on a two-way contract, he spent a lot of time with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Even when his contract was converted to a standard contract, he was still regularly deployed to Skyforce.

This season, Johnson appeared in four games with Sioux Falls, while averaging 21.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks. He shot 54.2 percent from the field, 51.6 percent from the 3-point line and 57.1 percent from the free throw line.

As most young players, whether on two-way contracts or on assignment, have to learn how to handle themselves, Johnson’s focus is just to take advantage of the opportunity amid the shuffle between the Heat and the G League.

“Within my journey, I have to stay prepared for anything that can happen. There are a lot of unexpected things that can happen in my position,” Johnson said. “So just stay ready all the time. You never know what tomorrow is going to bring or what’s going to happen. One day I’m going to the G League and then I could be playing in an NBA game the next day.”

And through it all, Johnson never lost sight of the main thing. He is used to being doubted, to be overlooked; going without a draft showed him that. Every day serves as his motivation.

“I’ve been motivated all my life. I’m aware of the circumstances of my path when I was undrafted,” Johnson said. “I have to prove something bigger. I’m aware of all that, so I just have to go out there and show everybody who I am. I’ve been doing this my whole life, there’s no extra motivation. I just know what it takes. I know what I need to do.”