After productive first season with the Heat, Alec Burks says ‘hopefully I can come back’
The Miami Heat didn’t make many roster changes last offseason. But one outside addition that the Heat did make last summer was the free-agent signing of veteran guard Alec Burks.
After proving to be a helpful veteran in his first season with the Heat, Burks hopes he’s not part of any potential roster changes this offseason. Burks, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after signing a one-year veteran minimum contract with the Heat last offseason, hopes to be back with Miami for the start of next season.
“I had a great year. I had a great time,” Burks said on exit interview day in late April when asked about his first season with the Heat. “Everybody from top to bottom, I got love for everybody here. It was a good year. I learned a lot. Even though I’m in my 14th year, I still learned something. So I’m glad I was here. Hopefully I can come back.”
Burks is used to change, though, as he has already played for eight different teams through his 14 NBA seasons. But he has learned a lot during his winding NBA journey and he applied those lessons to become a steadying presence for the Heat amid a turbulent season.
Burks, who turns 34 on July 20, stayed ready even through inconsistent playing time this season. After making just four starts in 36 appearances through the Heat’s first 68 games this regular season, Burks made 10 starts and 13 appearances over the Heat’s final 14 games of the regular season and then went on to start both play-in tournament games before again falling out of the rotation in the first round of the playoffs.
“I was just trying to be a steady presence and be a good vet,” Burks said. “When my name was called, I try to make the most of my opportunities and show the young guys you can play this role and be professional about it.”
Burks did a good job of that, adding efficient three-point shooting to the Heat’s offense. He shot a career-best 42.5 percent from three-point range on 4.2 three-point attempts this regular season, finishing with the NBA’s 10th-best three-point percentage among the 177 players around the league who took at least four threes per game this regular season.
“He’s a pro’s pro,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Burks. “He’s done it in so many places. That’s why we went after him. He can play this role. It’s not easy and much of this league, people are talking about, you want to have good vets. But there aren’t a lot of vets that really want to accept these kinds of roles. That’s just the reality. And he is not only able to accept it, but he thrives in that role.”
Burks’ biggest strengths are three-point shooting and reliability as a low-maintenance player who will seemingly accept any role, going from a bunch of regular-season DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) to postseason starter this season.
It’s a job Burks would welcome again with the Heat if he’s back next season.
“What I’ve learned when I was young is nobody is more important to the team and the game is a revolving door,” Burks said. “I’ve learned that you show the game to a young guy, the young guy is going to show the game to another young guy when he gets your age. So you just want to be a good person and never hate on anybody. You want to show the young guys to take advantage of everything this game can give you, so that’s what I tried to show them.”
SUMMER LEAGUE UPDATE
The Heat will again open summer league in the California Classic this year, which will be hosted by the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center in San Francisco this offseason. The Heat is one of four teams along with the Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs that will take part in the three-day event in San Francisco before moving on to Las Vegas Summer League.
The Heat’s summer league team will begin the California Classic on July 5 against the Spurs’ summer league squad at 4:30 p.m. EST. The Heat then takes on the Lakers on July 6 at 4:30 EST prior to closing the California Classic on July 8 against the Warriors at a time still to be determined.
Similar to other summer leagues, modified game play rules will be in place that include 10-minute quarters. Games on July 5 and July 6 will be open to the public, while games on July 8 will be available via broadcast only.
Heat assistant coach Eric Glass will again serve as the team’s summer league head coach this year after also guiding the Heat’s summer league squad in 2018 and 2019. Glass has been with the Heat for the last 15 seasons.
The Heat holds the 20th overall pick in the first round of this year’s draft, but currently doesn’t have a second-round selection. The first round of the draft will be on June 25 and the second round of the draft will take place on June 26.
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 10:40 AM.
