2026-27 Season Preview: Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo and the Heat welcome Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson to the team this season.

Offseason Recap

•

Last Season

: 43-39 (10th in East, lost in SoFi Play-In Tournament)

• Key Additions

: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ryan Conwell, Tim Hardaway Jr., Bobby Portis, Nick Richards, Klay Thompson

Every Heat move this offseason

Season Outlook

The Heat wanted Antetokounmpo, and they got him in a

blockbuster trade

with the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP, elevates the Heat to contenders, and he is determined to show he can still lead a team to a championship. Bam Adebayo and Antetokounmpo give the Heat perhaps the best frontcourt in the NBA with their ability to defend and protect the paint and create offensively with scoring and playmaking. They should be a force.

It’s a veteran team with Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, Davion Mitchell, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bobby Portis. Antetokounmpo, Adebayo, Wiggins, Portis, Thompson and Hardaway each have played at least nine NBA seasons. With those players, there is championship experience, Finals appearances, All-NBA selections, an MVP winner and a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

When the Heat acquired Antetokounmpo, an offensive concern arose: Where would the 3-point shooting come from? The answer: Hardaway made 224 3s and shot 40.7% from that range last season; Thompson made 202 and shot 38.3% and should get better looks with Miami; Wiggins connected on 138 3s at a 41.4% clip; Portis made 135 and shot 45.6% on 3s, and he is one of two players in the past five years to finish in the top five in 3-point percentage at least twice.

How Heat coach Erik Spoelstra puts this all together will be fascinating.

Breakout Candidate: Pelle Larsson

On a team with Antetokounmpo, Adebayo, Wiggins, Thompson and Hardaway Jr., Larsson, a third-year guard, must find his spots to execute offensively, and the Heat need him to do that. Last season in his second year, Larsson averaged double figures in scoring for the first time (11.4 ppg) and shot 49.6% from the field. To help the Heat with perimeter shooting, he will need to improve on his career 32.8% 3-point shooting. He had 26 games last season with 15 or more points, and if Larsson can improve on that, the Heat will have even more depth, and he will have found his way on a veteran-laden roster.

While the FIBA World Cup qualifying games aren’t the same as NBA action, Larsson has averaged 26 points in his past four qualifying games for Sweden, including 31 points against Finland and 23 points against France in late August. It’s a good sign for Larsson and Miami.

1 Number To Know

24.9%

— Last season, 24.9% of the Heat’s possessions were in transition. That was the highest rate for any team in Synergy’s 22 seasons of play-type tracking.

The Heat remade their offense last season, and it started with a huge increase in transition opportunities. Now they’ve added one of the best transition players in the game. Over the last five years, Antetokounmpo has averaged 1.21 points per possession in transition, while the rest of the league has averaged 1.13.

Half-court offense could still be a struggle, with neither Antetokounmpo nor Adebayo being consistently capable shooters from the perimeter. But with that duo anchoring the defense, the Heat should continue to run, and they’re now much more potent when they do.

— John Schuhmann

5 Must-See Matchups

Oct. 21: Timberwolves vs. Heat

— It’s the season opener and Antetokounmpo’s first official game with the Heat since being traded from Milwaukee.

Nov. 27: Heat vs. Knicks

— During a stretch from Nov. 13-Dec. 1, the Heat play eight of nine games against 2026 playoff teams, including Philadelphia, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Detroit and this contest against the defending champion. And the one opponent that didn’t make the playoffs happens to be the Bucks – Antetokounmpo’s first game against his former team.

Dec. 25: Heat vs. Celtics

— Boston made a play for Antetokounmpo but couldn’t find the right deal for him.

Jan. 28: Heat vs. Bucks

— Antetokounmpo makes his first return to Milwaukee since the offseason trade, and this game on Prime Video should celebrate his 13 seasons with the Bucks, including a title in 2021.

April 8: 76ers vs. Heat

— In the third-to-last game of the regular season, LeBron James and the 76ers visit the Heat who also had interest in James joining them this season.

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Complete Regular Season Schedule

Preseason Storylines

The Heat have the kind of roster that excites Spoelstra and his coaching staff. They get to go into the lab, stretch their imagination and innovate something new with grand possibility. Incorporating Antetokounmpo into Miami’s system and maximizing his skill set will be priority No. 1 in training camp. Figuring out how Antetokounmpo and Adebayo complement each other best is high on the list. The remaining starting lineup could be Mitchell, Thompson and Wiggins.

Then, it’s about finding the right rotation with a bench that is a mixture of young players and veterans. What role will Nikola Jović, Simone Fontecchio and Nick Richards play in the frontcourt rotation? Who will back up Mitchell at point guard? Will it be by committee or will the Heat use an open roster spot for that?

Complete Preseason Schedule

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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find

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