Most NBA championship odds put Miami Heat’s chances to win the 2025-26 title at the bottom half. They are basically looking at them as a play-in team at best. ESPN and DraftKings say they are ranked 20th. Norman Powell thinks those projections are wrong.
Powell joined the Heat on July in a three-team trade after a career season with the Los Angeles Clippers where he averaged 21.8 points per game in 60 games which he all started. He will be among the leaders of the team this season together with Bam Adebayo as they try to improve from their last season’s finish when Miami finished in 10th place as a play-in team and then got swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
It’s not going to be the same according to Powell. For him, they can do the damage and contend for the title as he believes the league can be wide open and there’s no need for an ultra talented player to lead them.
“We can be really good,” he told reporters during media day.
“One thing that people don’t understand or see is that you don’t need a generational superstar or talent to be good to go and win a championship and have a deep playoff run.”
Powell may have a point here. Heat themselves did it twice already but they failed in the NBA finals. Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers had a remarkable feat of reaching the championship dance last season, too.
Norman Powell thinks he’s a star
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro have been All-Stars at least once in their career and Powell point to them as the guys who can help them go all the way. He declared himself, too, as a leader as he believes he is an emerging top player in the league even if he is already 32 years old.
“Having a well-rounded team with experience with star players, which we have in Bam and Tyler – and I see myself as well as a budding star even though I’m 32 now,” he continued.
“But [it helps] having that experience with Wiggins, guys that have won championships and know what it takes to be successful. We have a great team built around guys who have an opportunity to step up and play bigger roles. And [we have] a team that’s hungry and ready to compete, ready to go after it and prove people wrong. We have the DNA to be a team to be feared going into the season.”
Heat’s starting five will be filled with veterans. Powell, Herro, and Adebayo will be joined in the starting line up by Davion Mitchell and one-time NBA champion Andrew Wiggins. The bench is made up of Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, and Terry Rozier.
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