It's true, the Miami Heat are not one of the teams that jump off the page as a natural championship contender in the Eastern Conference for the 2025-26 NBA season. However, ESPN's latest power rankings are an absolute slap to the face of the Heat's roster. Ranking them 19th in the league, the Heat may have just gotten the chip on their shoulder they needed.
Miami did make the star addition they were hoping for this offseason, but they still managed to get better. The Heat is still returning a talented roster, led by Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, and was able to add a borderline All-Star talent in Norman Powell.