MIAMI — In perhaps a metaphor for where the franchise has stood in recent years, the Miami Heat found themselves running in place at Sunday NBA draft lottery, starting the random-but-weighted drawing as the No. 13 seed and exiting the process with the No. 13 pick in the June 23 first round of the draft.
Eligible for only the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 13 or 14 pick, the Heat learned their fate early at the drawing in Chicago, when NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum opened an envelope with the team’s logo.
The last time the Heat were in the lottery they also exited with the No. 13 pick, selecting Tyler Herro at that spot out of Kentucky in 2019.
The Heat faced long odds for anything other than No. 13, which was their slot after closing the season at 43-39 and losing in the opening game of the play-in round to the Charlotte Hornets in overtime.
The Heat entered the lottery with a 1% chance of securing the top overall pick and a 4.8% chance of securing one of the first four selections, the only picks determined by the drawing, with the remaining selections in the lottery determined by inverse order of regular-season record.
The Heat’s percentages for securing each of their eligible spots in the lottery were 1% for the No. 1 pick, 1.11% for the No. 2 pick, 1.25% for the No. 3 pick, 1.42% for the No. 4 pick, 92.88% for the No. 13 pick and 2.33% for the No. 14 picks.
Selected at No. 13 over the past 10 years have been Derik Queen last year, Devon Carter in 2024, Gradey Dick in 2023, Jalen Duren in 2022, Chris Duarte in 2021, Kira Lewis in 2020, Herro in 2019, Jerome Robinson in 2018 and Donovan Mitchell in 2017, when he was taken one spot ahead of the Heat’s Bam Adebayo.
Among prospects potentially available at No. 13 could be Koa Peat, wing, Arizona; Labaron Philon Jr., guard, Alabama; Jayden Quaintance, center, Kentucky; Karim Lopez, forward, New Zealand; Yaxel Lendeborg, forward, Michigan; Aday Mara, center, Michigan; Chris Cenac, power forward, Houston; Cameron Carr, shooting guard, Baylor; Christian Anderson, point guard, Texas Tech; and Morez Johnson, power forward, Michigan.
In addition to No. 13, the Heat also hold the No. 41 selection, the second-round pick of the Golden State Warriors, which was acquired from the Charlotte Hornets as compensation for not being made aware of the gambling investigation into Terry Rozier at the time of that January 2024 trade. The Heat’s own second-round pick, at No. 44, was dealt to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Heat were represented at Sunday’s lottery drawing by franchise icon and current team executive Alonzo Mourning on the lottery dais and Assistant General Manager Adam Simon in the private drawing room.
While the drawing was conducted in a private room ahead of the broadcast portion of the lottery, the NBA makes the video feed of the drawing available.
In their 12 visits to the lottery, dating to 1989, the Heat have never improved their draft position from their lottery seeding, yet to secure the No. 1 selection over the franchise’s 38 seasons.
The Heat retain all of their first-round picks going forward with the exception of owing the Hornets either a top-14-protected pick in the 2027 first round or an unprotected pick in the 2028 first round, to complete the Rozier trade.
As far as impact to Heat’s position in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the lottery rewarded the Washington Wizards with the No. 1 overall pick, now positioned to add BYU guard AJ Dybantsa to recent acquisitions Anthony Davis and Trae Young. The Wizards tanked to the degree that Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against them on March 10.
By contrast, the Indiana Pacers, bolstered by the February acquisition of Ivica Zubac and the anticipated return Tyrese Haliburton, lost out on a lottery selection when their pick falling to No. 5 and going to the Los Angeles Clippers to complete the Zubac trade. That pick had been top-four protected.
Beyond that, impact to the East race was limited by the lottery results, with the rebuilding Chicago Bulls the only other East team beyond the Wizards to exit the process in the top five, to pick at No. 4.