Where Do the Miami Heat Stand in the Eastern Conference for the Upcoming Season?
As the 2025-2026 NBA season looms, teams have made business decisions to help their franchise take the next step towards the Larry O’Brien trophy. After winning last year's championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder is looking to secure its second banner to hang on their rafters. The Boston Celtics are expected to have a decline after trading away star big man Kristaps Porzingis, while Jayson Tatum is likely to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL. Even the Los Angeles Lakers are pulling out all the stops to maximize the star power of Luka Doncic and LeBron James after securing former first overall pick Deandre Ayton. Amongst all these different teams, the Miami Heat is no exception. In fact, many fans are not even acknowledging the franchise, dismissing them entirely. However, maybe they should be sliding under the radar. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve been marked as the underdogs, especially with the amount of national media coverage they receive. With the roster they have now, they have the potential to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat has made significant changes and acquisitions in the off-season. The franchise got borderline all-star Norman Powell, kept former all-star Andrew Wiggins, and drafted potentially the dark horse of the 2025 NBA Draft, Kasparas Jakucionis. They also traded away former all-star Kevin Love, Duncan Robinson, Kyle Anderson, and defensive ace Haywood Highsmith. They’ve made the smart decision to sign X-Factor Davion Mitchell for two more years for $24 million. Not to mention the Heat’s dynamic duo in Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, rising development in Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic, and being coached by one of the greats in modern times, Eric Spoelstra.
Despite coming off a mediocre season, the main struggle was the ability to finish off games. The Miami Heat blew at least 20 leads by double digits and lost in their 2025 season, which is tied for the most in the NBA and represents a significant part of their season's struggles, as the team lost a league-high 11 times after leading after three quarters. This trend of losing leads, particularly in the fourth quarter, plagued the Heat's season, contributing to a long losing streak and their elimination from the playoffs. However, this doesn’t dismiss their potential concerning having a winning record and being amongst the toughest teams to play against. In a somewhat depleted Eastern Conference, the Heat can be a top-five-seeded team by the time the playoffs arrive.
