The NBA’s release of the 2025-26 regular season schedule has sent a clear message about the Miami Heat: the league isn’t particularly high on their prospects. With a significant reduction in national TV appearances, the Heat face an uphill battle to prove their relevance. This perceived snub could serve as motivation for key players like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, who are eager to demonstrate their value on the national stage. The team’s offseason moves, aimed at financial flexibility and potential future acquisitions, haven’t translated into increased visibility, leaving many to wonder if the Heat are being underestimated. The article will explore the implications of this perceived disrespect, examine the team’s offseason moves, and discuss how the Heat’s core players might respond to the challenge.
NBA’s Brutal Stance on the Heat
The 2025-26 NBA schedule tells a harsh truth: the league doesn’t view the Miami Heat as a major draw. Their national TV game count has plummeted from 16 in 2023-24 to a mere five. This puts them in the company of teams like the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls and others, which is not where Miami wants to be. For those keeping score at home, the league apparently feels only slightly better about the Heat than they do about seven potential bottom-feeders, only one of whom has a realistic chance of making any playoff noise (Toronto). That’s what they call a big yikes.
The NBA is Sleeping on the Heat
While the Heat haven’t transformed into title favorites, they’ve quietly improved. Their summer transactions were clearly rooted in an attempt to for the potential run at Giannis Antetokounmpo on which they and so many other teams are clearly waiting. That doesn’t mean they failed to get better. On the contrary, they have with the acquisition of Norman Powell, who they . Even by downgrading from Duncan Robinson to Simone Fontecchio, they have also managed to piece together .
Miami is not a 55-win team, but they’re also not a sub-.500 squad. They possess a core capable of competing for a playoff spot and potentially making noise in the postseason. To be clear, this almost assuredly isn’t a 55-win team. The Heat are one star short on that front. Failing a disastrous brush with injury bugs, this isn’t a 29-to-38-win squad, either.
Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo Should Use This as Fuel
Professional athletes thrive on perceived slights. The NBA has just handed Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro a massive chip for their shoulders. That feels pretty dangerous, particularly when Herro is one. On-court products do not always drive national-TV exposure. The Boston Celtics rank eighth in marquee billings, even though they have entered coupon-clipping mode, and have only one healthy star on the roster.
The lack of national TV games is a clear sign that the league doesn’t view Herro and Adebayo as primetime players. This should serve as motivation for them to elevate their game and prove the doubters wrong.
Questionable Rankings Compared to Other Teams
Market size and mystique will always be a factor. But there is no world in which the Heat should be less compelling than next year’s Celtics—not as Boston telegraphs to the rest of the league it fully intends to lean into a gap year. Finishing behind the Phoenix Suns (nine), Sacramento Kings (nine), and Portland Trail Blazers (eight) is certainly questionable. None of those teams have more star power than the Heat. The same goes for the Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers, though they at least are working off an NBA Finals cameo.
Impact if Butler Stays
Without question, the Heat would have more national TV tilts if they still had Jimmy Butler, or had they traded for another big name. This makes sense on some level. Or it’s at least how things work. But placing them behind some of these teams feels like a slight to the appeal of Herro and Adebayo as primetime players.
The Heat’s placement behind teams with less star power raises questions about the league’s evaluation of their marketability. The team and its stars should see this as another chip on their shoulder and look to improve in the 2025/2026 season.
Final Thoughts and Implications
The NBA’s message to the Miami Heat is loud and clear: prove your worth. The reduced national TV exposure is a challenge and an opportunity for the Heat to defy expectations. By exceeding projections and showcasing their talent on the court, Miami can force the league to take notice. And even if it’s not, Miami will be much better off if both cornerstones treat it as one anyway.
The 2025-26 season will be a defining one for the Miami Heat. It’s a chance for Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, and the rest of the team to rewrite the narrative and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. The Heat should channel this perceived disrespect into a season of motivated basketball.
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