Unfortunately, the ping pong balls didn't fall in the Miami Heat's favor this time around. After the NBA Draft Lottery results on Sunday afternoon, the Heat will be selecting 13th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
While the Heat may not have gotten the fortuitous bounce, the Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies managed to improve their draft position in the lottery. Here were the official lottery results:
NBA Draft Lottery results
1. Washington Wizards
2. Utah Jazz
3. Memphis Grizzlies
4. Chicago Bulls
5. LA Clippers (via IND)
6. Brooklyn Nets
7. Sacramento Kings
8. Atlanta Hawks (via NO)
9. Dallas Mavericks
10. Milwaukee Bucks
11. Golden State Warriors
12. Oklahoma City Thunder (via LA)
13. Miami Heat
14. Charlotte Hornets
Even though it's not exactly surprising that the Heat didn't move up in the lottery, especially considering they only had a 4.8 percent chance to move into the top 4 and just a one percent shot at earning the No. 1 pick, it is a bit discouraging to a fan base that was hoping for some lottery chaos.
It didn't work in their favor this time around, but at least the front office got some much-needed clarity heading into the start of the offseason.
The Heat's offseason officially begins
Now that the Heat are going to be selecting at No. 13 in the 2026 NBA Draft, they can put the pieces in place for the offseason. They know what they can and can't include in a trade offer for a superstar player, or what they'll be working with if they end up pivoting away from that plan.
They can also start scouting players expected to still be on the board late in the lottery, moving away from the top prospects in this draft class.
Despite the fact that the Heat would've greatly benefited from unexpectedly moving up in the lottery, now that such an idea is out of the realm of possibility, there are some positives in the Heat's ability to move on from one pipe dream (a top pick in the draft) to another (trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo).
While the Heat may be leaving the draft lottery with a certain level of disappointment, they should be motivated now to embark on their true offseason plans.
There's no lifeline from the basketball gods coming. It's on the front office to figure out how to fix things from the ground floor up. The Heat are now on the clock. First, with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Then, figuring out what the rest of their offseason is going to look like.
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