Erik Spoelstra makes a compelling case for a Norman Powell All-Star

ByNBAUSA


MIAMI – With The Miami Heat are coming off a disappointing loss against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, the team was missing a star Norman Powellwho left for “personal reasons”. As Heat star Tyler Herro will miss his 40th game on Sunday when Miami plays Chicago, one of the players stepping up in his absence was Norman Powell, who could very well be announced as an All-Star.

As the All-Star reserves go out at 6:00 PM (EST), Powell’s name could be called after a career-best season in his first year in Miami. He came close to making it last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, receiving enough votes to make the Western Conference’s top 10 guards, but falling short of the ballot.

Powell averaged 23 points while shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three-point range. He was productive for Miami, with the head coach Erik Spoelstra speaking to ClutchPoints ahead of Sunday’s contest against the Bulls da Powell “he deserves it.”

“I believe he deserves it,” Spoelstra said. “One of the best compliments you can give him is the fact that he’s acted in all of his roles that he’s had in his career. He just keeps going and is having his best years past the age of 30; it’s a credit to his work ethic and his dedication to the craft.”

“But I remember when he was in Toronto, he was a great ninth man, eighth man, and then he worked his way up to seventh man, sixth man,” Spoelstra continued. “…And then he reinvented himself as a starter with the Clippers, and now I feel like an All-Star as a starter for us.”

Heat’s Norman Powell on wanting to be an All-Star

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The The Heat star in Powell has previously talked about being an All-Starrepeating over and over again how it was a personal goal for him, and he has the best chance right now at 32 years old. Speaking after a Jan. 4 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, where he scored 34 points, he would say that “definitely made the case.”

“I think so, I think I definitely made it,” Powell said. “I learned last year not to get caught up in whether I’m going to make it or not. I want to make it, I think I deserve to make it. My peers around the league tell me after games that I’m an All-Star and I should be there.”

“Hopefully that will happen for me this year, but my goal is to go out there and win and show all my hard work and leave it up to the fans, the coaches who make those decisions,” Powell continued. “But I believe I’m an All-Star. That’s how I’ve always seen myself and something I’ve always wanted to work on in my career.”

While Spoelstra agrees, Powell also commands respect around the league, such as when he’s the head coach of the Indiana Pacers Rick Carlisle directly said that he would vote for the star.

“Norman Powell is such an important player for them,” Carlisle said via Heat Central on X, formerly Twitter. “Powell is an All-Star for me this year; he’s going to get my vote. I have no problem saying that publicly. He’s been really great this year for them.”

Either way, it remains to be seen if Powell is finally selected as an All-Star, and an announcement will come soon.





2026-02-01 22:06:00

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