If Heat keeps pick, who could be the selection at No. 13 of 2026 NBA Draft?
While there was a small chance that the Miami Heat could claim one of the top four selections of the 2026 NBA Draft, there was no Draft Lottery miracle for the Heat.
Instead, the expected happened in Sunday’s NBA Draft Lottery: The Heat entered as the 13th lottery seed and came away with the 13th overall pick in the June 23-24 draft.
The Heat now has two primary options ahead of next month’s draft — make the selection and add to its young core or try to trade the pick to acquire Milwaukee Bucks two-time NBA MVP and nine-time All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo or another All-Star talent this offseason.
Technically, the Heat isn’t eligible to trade its 2026 first-round pick because NBA rules prevent teams from being without a first-round selection in two consecutive years. But the Heat could pick a player on behalf of another team in the first round of this year’s draft as part of a prearranged trade.
The internal discussions surrounding that decision will pick up in the coming days and weeks, with the NBA Draft Combine taking place this week in Chicago.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the Bucks “are open for business on trade calls and offers for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo entering the NBA draft combine and over six weeks away from the draft.” The Heat was among the teams that aggressively pursued Antetokounmpo in February ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline before the Bucks ultimately opted to hold on to him for the remainder of the season.
The Heat holds a lottery pick this year for the first time since 2019. With the Heat’s last two lottery selections, it came away with one-time NBA All-Star guard Tyler Herro (13th overall pick in 2019) and three-time NBA All-Star center Bam Adebayo (14th overall pick in 2017).
Here's who some mock drafts are saying the Heat will pick at No. 13 if it keeps the selection and doesn’t trade it ...
ESPN’s latest mock draft has the Heat taking Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. with the 13th pick.
Philon Jr. (6-foot-4 and 185 pounds) averaged 22 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 49.6% from the field and 79 of 199 (39.7%) from three-point range as a sophomore at Alabama last season. Philon, 20, scored 725 points last season, which ranked third by a player in a single season in program history.
“Philon had an outstanding season at Alabama and proved himself as a potent scorer who can generate offense in spurts, helping him earn looks in the back half of the lottery,” ESPN’s Jeremy Woo wrote of the Heat’s selection of Philon in the mock draft. “He can be polarizing for scouts, with persistent questions around his ability to run a team in the half court, but he’s a proven scorer with positional size who could provide a real spark coming off the bench in the right context.”
The Athletic’s latest mock draft also has the Heat selecting Philon with the 13th pick.
“Philon returned to school at the last minute last May, and he took advantage of his extra year,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote as part of the mock draft. “He stepped into Alabama’s lead guard role and averaged 22 points, 3.5 rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 50% from the field, 39% from 3 and 80% from the foul line. Though his defense took a step back from last season, when he was terrific while playing next to Mark Sears and only sharing the on-ball responsibilities, he was one of the best offensive players in the country.”
Yahoo Sports’ latest mock draft has the Heat picking Texas wing Dailyn Swain at No. 13.
Swain (6-8 and 225 pounds) averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 52.1% from the field and 26 of 71 (36.6%) on threes as a junior at Texas last season. Swain, who turns 21 on July 15, spent the first two seasons of his college career at Xavier before transferring to Texas.
“Swain played two competent seasons at Xavier, transferred to Texas, and somehow became the most efficient isolation scorer in the entire country,” Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor wrote as part of the mock draft. “He’s relentless getting to the rim, creative as a finisher, and active enough defensively to project as a switchable wing. But the reason he lives at the rim is because his jump shot is genuinely terrible. He has stiff mechanics, bad percentages, and a reluctance to even attempt it that goes all the way back to high school. Until the shooting becomes a credible threat, defenses are going to pack the paint and dare him to beat them from the outside. But the Heat have already proven successful at helping players improve their shots. Swain could very well end up a major steal.”
Among the other prospects expected to be selected in the Heat’s range at No. 13 are Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr., Arizona guard Brayden Burries, Mexican forward Karim Lopez, Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan center Aday Mara, Washington forward Hannes Steinbach, Houston forward Chris Cenac Jr., Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, Tennessee forward Nate Ament, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., Baylor wing Cameron Carr and UConn guard Braylon Mullins.
This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 9:54 AM.
