The Summer of Shabazz '14 was supposed to be the bridge from something special to something even more special, an NCAA championship at UConn to the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James with the Miami Heat as his hand-picked first-round draft pick.

Then LeBron left. Then Shabazz Napier struggled mightily with his shot throughout summer league. Then came a rookie season when the diminutive point guard almost became an afterthought, with the arrival of Goran Dragic at midseason and then late-season hernia surgery that prematurely ended his rookie run.

Which brings us to the Summer of Shabazz '15, and this latest opportunity to start anew. The difference is it now comes with eyes wide open to the realities of NBA life.

Monday night was another step forward for Napier, with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, six assists and six rebounds in the Heat's 86-83 loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Las Vegas Summer league, their first loss in seven games this summer.

"Last summer league it was up and down for me," said Napier, who had just one turnover in his 24 minutes Monday. "Now I feel a little more comfortable."

Napier said that last summer he put way too much focus on his shooting, when there was so much more to learn about surviving as an NBA point guard.

"Now it's just continue to get better," he said. "This is a new learning experience for me. I'm going to continue to increase my knowledge. At the end of the day, summer league is to help you out and I want to continue to grow, continue to get as better as I possibly could."

Just as there was uncertainty last summer, with James first praising Napier as the best point guard in the 2014 draft and then departing shortly thereafter, this summer there is little clarity at point guard for the Heat beyond Dragic. It remains unclear whether the Heat will unload Mario Chalmers' contract for luxury-tax savings, of whether second-round pick Josh Richardson might be targeted for minutes behind Dragic, or whether Tyler Johnson will have the opportunity to continue to audition for minutes at point guard.

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Napier said among his goals is to show the value of being a pure playmaker, of being able lead no matter those who are alongside.

"Just continuing to get the ball up the floor, continue to play good defense," he said. "Get the ball into the paint. Look forward for guys. Just try to get equal opportunities for my guys."

Although only one year in, summer league also allows Napier to serve somewhat as a mentor, to ease the transition of the newcomers under assistant coach Dan Craig, who is guiding the Heat's summer squad.

"He's a good person to learn from," Johnson said before he was sidelined with his fractured jaw. "Even though he's a young guy himself, he's played the position his whole life. I still pick some things from him."

For Napier, summer league also has afforded the opportunity to work his way back from his hernia surgery, as well as a recent setback in that process, plus a knee issue that limited his participation in the Orlando summer league to a single appearance.

"He has been working real, real hard this summer to get his body back right from his hernia," Johnson said. "I mean he looked really good until he went back down again."

Napier, who is one of 13 Heat players with guaranteed contracts for next season, said he is appreciative of the team's patience.

"Obviously we've been taking precaution, making sure I'm getting back healthy," he said.

Now back on the court in Las Vegas, he said this summer's experience is totally different than as a rookie.

"Skill-wise and my knowledge of the game," he said, "it's big. I understand a lot of things of what teams and what my players need. So it's just trying to get my feel back for the game."

If the shots fall, like Monday against the Nuggets, all the better. If not, there will be times like at the end of Saturday's victory over the Utah Jazz, when he sealed a victory with three late free throws.

And because it's the Heat, there will also be an opportunity to prove himself on the other end of the court.

"Just go out there and have fun, compete at the highest level," he said. "At the end of the day, the coaches say if we want to win championships and win games, we do it on the defensive end. I think everybody understands that on this team."

To a degree, he equated his NBA rookie season to another season in school. Now there is more of a sense of belonging.

"It's 82 games," he said, "so you learn a lot. I have some great vets. So I pick their brains a lot. You just try to do your best and be a sponge."

iwinderman@tribpub.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat or facebook.com/ira.winderman