The Miami Heat enter the 2026 NBA Draft at No. 13 with clear needs at guard after a season that exposed their offensive limitations, and Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley projects them to address those needs directly by selecting Alabama sophomore Labaron Philon Jr. — a shifty, score-first guard whose three-ball came alive this past season and who projects as a plug-and-play scoring initiator from the jump.

Miami’s guard situation grew more precarious with each passing month of the regular season. Norman Powell’s contract situation and Tyler Herro’s extension cost crunch could force the team to part ways with at least one cornerstone perimeter piece this offseason, potentially stripping the roster of its primary scoring punch outside of Bam Adebayo. Philon is an obvious profile fit: he can initiate offense, space the floor with a three-ball that showed marked improvement in Year 2 at Alabama, and convert scoring chances off the bounce with a deceptive handle and tight footwork.

The legitimate concern is physical. Philon is listed under 180 pounds and is not a traditional above-the-rim athlete. Miami’s conditioning and developmental program — which helped transform Davion Mitchell into a high-energy defensive disruptor — is precisely the kind of environment Buckley identifies as ideal for a smaller guard trying to fill out his frame and harden his body against NBA physicality. If the Heat can add 10 to 15 pounds of functional muscle to Philon’s frame, his already-slippery offensive game becomes substantially harder to guard at the next level.

The direct opportunity cost at No. 13 is Charlotte’s pick at No. 14: Michigan senior Yaxel Lendeborg, a 6-foot-9 power forward whose versatility, championship-winning resume, and defensive physicality could have filled Miami’s frontcourt depth needs. The Heat choosing Philon over Lendeborg is a bet that offensive creation is the more urgent organizational need — and given Adebayo’s interior dominance, that logic holds.

CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein and Gary Parrish both project Philon to Miami at No. 13, making this one of the more consensus picks in the back half of the lottery. Tankathon also projects Philon to the Heat at No. 13. CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno diverges by projecting Jayden Quaintance — a Kentucky big — at this slot, reflecting a different organizational priority around frontcourt depth. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor projects Kingston Flemings to Miami instead, noting that Flemings’s surgical mid-range touch and point-guard vision could make him even more effective than Philon in a system that needs a lead initiator.

Regardless of who slips into this range, the Heat’s need for an offensive-initiating guard is undeniable. The version of Miami that competes for a playoff spot in 2026-27 looks very different depending on whether Herro and Powell both return, but adding a young, scoring guard at No. 13 insulates the franchise from whatever offseason decisions force their hand.

What Other Outlets Are Projecting

Outlet	Projected Player
Bleacher Report	Labaron Philon Jr., PG/SG, Alabama
CBS Sports	Labaron Philon, PG, Alabama (Finkelstein, Parrish)
Tankathon	Labaron Philon Jr., PG, Alabama
Yahoo Sports	Kingston Flemings, PG, Houston

Philon at No. 13 is the right pick for Miami because the Heat’s best rebuild path runs through young offensive creation, not through adding another versatile forward to an already-forward-heavy roster. His three-point shooting development at Alabama showed real upside, and the Heat’s renowned developmental infrastructure is the ideal environment to transform his slippery scoring game into a complete NBA guard profile. If he becomes what his offensive tools suggest — a 20-point-per-game threat who can run an offense — Miami looks prescient for not hesitating at this spot.