The [Miami Heat](https://heatnation.com/) have won at least 37 games in every season since Erik Spoelstra has held the coaching reins, and he’s been leading the team from the sidelines dating back to the 2008-09 season.
Miami hasn’t been legitimately bad in a long time, and Five Reasons Sports’ Ethan J. Skolnick has revealed part of the rationale for why Miami hasn’t tried to truly tank a season in recent memory.
According to him, the Heat don’t see all that much of a difference between selecting with the No. 8 overall pick or No. 15 overall pick in an average draft.
> “The Heat don’t really believe there’s much difference between picking 8 or picking 15 in the average draft, and that’s one reason they don’t pivot toward tanking even if a season isn’t going anywhere,” Skolnick [wrote](https://discord.com/channels/1168987954958585939/1168987955759681598) via Discord.
Skolnick’s comments come in light of a stretch of some mediocre play from the Heat. Miami has won just five of its last 10 games played and doesn’t look like a team that is on track to accomplish anything of real significance in the Eastern Conference this season. After all, the Heat are barely above the .500 mark at 28-26 and sit as the No. 8 seed in the East.
But Miami isn’t likely to start dropping games on purpose, as the organization appears to philosophically disagree with that approach. The latest detail from Skolnick only adds to that truth.
Moreover, even if the Heat were to test their odds by tanking the rest of the season, it’s probably too late in the campaign for them to actually end up with one of the NBA’s worst records. More than half of the season is already over, and there are numerous teams around the league with far fewer wins and less talent to work with.
On the bright side, the Heat have a track record of making the most of their picks in the middle/late portions of the first round in recent drafts.
Each of Miami’s first-round picks from the last four drafts — Kasparas Jakucionis, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic — have contributed this season. It should also be noted that homegrown stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were selected at No. 14 and No. 13 in their respective drafts.
So, fans should be confident in Miami hitting on its top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as well, even if it lands in the middle of the first round.