Hoops Nightly
Haywood Highsmith
Free agent · F · 29
Haywood Highsmith
vs
2025-26
8
Magic · F · 27
Jamal Cain
Head to head · 2025-26 regular season · stats.nba.com

Haywood Highsmith vs Jamal Cain

11-5categories
Highsmith · Cain
Haywood Highsmith
Highsmith
Free agent
2025-26
Cain
Magic
8
7
Games
availability
40
13.0
Minutes
per game
12.1
5.4
Points
per game
5.4
1.9
Rebounds
per game
2.0
1.0
Assists
per game
0.7
0.6
Steals + blocks
per game
0.4
0.0
Turnovers
per game · lower is better
0.5
52.2%
Field goal %
48.7%
57.1%
Three-point %
2.0 vs 1.8 attempts
38.4%
85.7%
Free throw %
84.8%
72.9%
True shooting
TS%
62.4%
12.1%
Usage
USG%
15.9%
11.9%
Assist %
of teammates' baskets
8.5%
7.2%
Rebound %
of available
8.0%
+1.7
Net rating
on court
+4.5
10.7%
PIE
player impact estimate
8.1%
+1.4
Plus-minus
per game
+1.1
Bars show each player's share of the pair's total; the better number is in the club's color (turnovers: fewer is better).

Where the gap is

from the numbers above

Jamal Cain scored more in 2025-26, 0.0 points a game apart (5.4 vs 5.4), on Cain's heavier usage (15.9% vs 12.1%).

Highsmith is the more efficient scorer by true shooting, 72.9% to 62.4%; TS% folds threes and free throws into one number, so the gap survives shot-diet differences.

Playmaking goes to Highsmith (1.0 vs 0.7 assists), the glass to Cain (2.0 vs 1.9 rebounds).

Availability is part of the comparison: Cain played 33 more games (40 vs 7 of 82).

With Cain on the floor his team outscored opponents by +4.5 per 100 possessions, against +1.7 for Highsmith; on-court net rating carries the teammates with it, so read it next to PIE.

On the books for 2026-27: Highsmith $1.0M through 2026-27, Cain $2.6M through 2026-27. Whether either fits a trade is a Trade Machine question, not a stat one.

Splits

2025-26 · from the game logs
Highsmith
2025-26
Cain
4-3
Record when playing
22-18
1.5
Points at home
4.7
7.0
Points on the road
6.0
3.5
Points in wins
5.6
8.0
Points in losses
5.1
16
Season high
20
0
30-point games
0
0
Double-doubles
0

Last games & contracts

test a trade in the Trade Machine →
Highsmith · last 5
Fri, Oct 16 vs UTA0 pts · 0 reb · 0 ast
Wed, Oct 14 at SAS7 pts · 3 reb · 1 ast
Sat, Oct 10 vs SAS3 pts · 0 reb · 0 ast
Wed, Oct 7 at CHI0 pts · 1 reb · 0 ast
Mon, Oct 5 at DET2 pts · 4 reb · 0 ast
Cain · last 5
Fri, Oct 16 vs MIA14 pts · 5 reb · 0 ast
Tue, Oct 13 vs CLE2 pts · 2 reb · 2 ast
Sun, Oct 11 at CLE11 pts · 3 reb · 1 ast
Wed, Oct 7 at MEM15 pts · 2 reb · 1 ast
Sun, May 3 at DET5 pts · 4 reb · 1 ast
Highsmith · contract
2026-27$1.0M
Cain · contract
2026-27team option$2.6M

More comparisons

pick any two players →
Highsmith vs
Pete Nance · Jamal Cain · Spencer Jones · Asa Newell
Cain vs
Pete Nance · Spencer Jones · Asa Newell · Karlo Matkovic

Per-game numbers and percentages are 2025-26 regular season from stats.nba.com; splits and last games from our own game logs; contract figures are cap hits from public salary data and can lag a signing by a day. Bold marks the better number in each row (turnovers: fewer is better).