The Miami Heat are back in the Play-In Tournament, this time as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, after a turbulent 37-45 regular season. It’s their third straight appearance, but this one carries a different tone—fewer stars, more questions, and a heavy reliance on resilience.

The Heat have no doubt found themselves in challenging situations (think the brutal 10-game slide in March). And yet somehow managed to stumble into the final postseason spot. But if recent history has taught fans anything, it’s never to count them out. In 2023, Miami became the first—and still only—team to fight its way from the Play-In to the NBA Finals. It was powered by Jimmy Butler’s brilliance and a rising supporting cast. But with Butler being traded mid-season, the locker room dynamics got rattled.

Heat legend Dwyane Wade stepped in to maneuver it. For Wade, reaching out to Bam Adebayo wasn’t just encouragement. It meant inserting himself into a fragile moment, risking overstepping, but trusting the bond they’d built. It acted as a late push that kept Miami’s playoff hopes alive. “My conversation with Bam when he was on a 10-game losing streak, what we would talk about was ‘not letting go of the rope,’” reflected Dwyane Wade.

As a veteran, Wade admired Bam’s mindset: “I’m not gonna allow my guys to quit on this season.” He continued, “Tyler Herro is the guy, probably gonna be the best player. But Bam, I think he took the leader role.”

Dwyane Wade discussed how the head coach, Erik Spoelstra, knows what they are doing, as the play-in is not their first rodeo. In 2023, Miami rallied late behind Jimmy Butler and Max Strus to eliminate Chicago 102-91. The trend continued in 2024, as Bam Adebayo’s defensive switch onto DeMar DeRozan helped the Heat overpower the Bulls again, 112-91, especially with Zach LaVine sidelined

Heat Turn to Spoelstra’s Experience, Young Core to Spark Play-In Revival

There is no denying that post-Butler, the pressure of the team lies on the shoulders of Bam Adebayo and Herro. “It’s just important for the team to hear our voice, to see us,” Adebayo said of his partnership with Herro.” It’s teaching us to lead, it’s teaching us how to be the two men in front no matter what that looks like. Points, rebounds, whatever it is, trying our best to impact winning.” And it was here that the legend Dwyane Wade decided to step in and provide the help that his rookie needed.

The Miami Heat also suffered an eight-game losing run in March for the first time since Erik Spoelstra became head coach in 2008–09. And if that wasn’t enough, for the first time since 2016–17, they also fell to 10 games below .500. Spoelstra had previously taken the responsibility for the team not faring well, “I have to do a better job.”

No one anticipated the lows to reach this low, but the coach tried to pull the team together. “Get over it. This is the NBA life,” is what he said. That’s Spo’s thing, ‘not letting go of the rope,” Dwyane Wade said. “You gotta run through this tape. Stuff looks bad right now, Jimmy just left, everything’s crumbling down. Don’t let go of it.”

The team still has the chance to redeem itself, with players like Kel’el Ware, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, and Alec Burks ready to step up. Tyler Herro explained the importance of him and Bam being vocal leaders for a roster still playing for something. “I think just learning from our experience,” he said. “We’ve played in a couple of these Play-In games now…being the emotional vocal leaders for guys that haven’t been in this situation.”

He added, “We’ve definitely leaned on each other just to help lead the team, but also as we’re trying to continue to raise our level of play… No matter what’s going on with the team, wins or losses, me and Bam always have to be on the same page.”

While the losses have mounted and uncertainty looms after Jimmy Butler’s departure, D-Wade’s vote of confidence signals to Spoelstra’s track record—and his ability to develop and guide young talent. Like Dwyane Wade, even we “want to see them in the play-in” and see what the team and Spo “bring in the play-in.”