The Miami Heat dropped to 31-29 in this 2025-26 NBA season following a 124-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday. The loss sees the Heat lose further ground to the 76ers, who are sixth in the East with a 33-26 record, for the final guaranteed playoff spot, and Bam Adebayo made it clear postgame that he’s desperate to avoid being in the play-in tournament again.
“I don’t wanna be in this s*** no more,” Adebayo said. “We’re better than being in the play-in in the last 4 years.”
When you’ve found yourself in that same position time after time, maybe that is just how good you are. The Heat were the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 53-29 record in 2021-22, but haven’t been able to replicate that kind of success in the regular season since.
The Heat found themselves in the play-in tournament in 2022-23 (44-38), 2023-24 (46-36), and 2024-25 (37-45). They managed to advance to the playoffs on all three occasions and even made it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2023.
The Heat would lose in five games to the Denver Nuggets, though, and that was pretty much that. They haven’t had any playoff success since, losing in the first round in 2024 and 2025.
The Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Heat in record-breaking fashion last season. The Cavaliers won the series by a combined 122 points, the most in NBA history. It was a complete embarrassment, and it was clear that big changes would be needed if this team was to return to relevance. So, did we see that? Well, not really.
The Heat made a great trade by acquiring Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers, but that was about it. Adebayo had believed there would be a lot of changes, but that didn’t prove to be the case. It meant that it was very likely they’d be finishing in the play-in spots again.
The Heat got off to a fine 13-6 start to this campaign, but failed to build on it. They entered the All-Star break with a mediocre 29-27 record. The Heat then won their first two games after the break as they looked to make a push, but followed that up by losing two in a row, and are eighth in the East.
Adebayo did impress in this latest loss to the 76ers. The 28-year-old put up 29 points (10-20 FG), 14 rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Adebayo is now averaging 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds in February, but the Heat have gone just 5-5 in the month. You wonder if the three-time All-Star starts thinking about heading out of town if this campaign ends in disappointment as well.
The Heat have Adebayo under contract for quite a while, though, after he agreed to a three-year, $161 million extension in 2024. The deal runs through the 2028-29 season, for which he has a player option. So, he doesn’t have much leverage and is likely to be in Miami for a while.
Adebayo would be hoping that the Heat can somehow land Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in the summer. They will become a contender with Antetokounmpo, whose future in Milwaukee remains uncertain, but if they fall short in their quest to acquire him, then it’s hard to see this team winning anything anytime soon.
It will be quite fascinating to see how that Antetokounmpo saga pans out. For now, though, the Heat’s focus will be on their next game against the Houston Rockets at Kaseya Center on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
