By Vinny Porco
Louisville basketball standout Ryan Conwell was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night with the 37th pick in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft. Soon after, his draft rights were traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for the 41st pick and cash considerations.
Conwell’s collegiate basketball journey took place at four schools over the course of four years, beginning at the University of South Florida. He truly broke out, however, in his sophomore year at Indiana State University, averaging 16.6 points per game on 40.7% shooting from three.
He took similar scoring and efficiency to Xavier University for a year before joining U of L’s squad in the transfer portal. In his senior season with the Cardinals, he averaged 18.8 points per game. However, he struggled from behind the arc in comparison to his two previous seasons, shooting only 34.5% from three.
Ryan Conwell dribbles the ball up the court in an ACC contest against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 at the KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Nolton Alfred / The Louisville Cardinal)
Conwell looks to join a Miami Heat team that has just recently made its way into headlines by trading for the Milwaukee Bucks’ two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Heat also have former Kentucky Wildcat Bam Adebayo on their roster, who logged the second-highest scoring game in NBA history this past season. Adebayo scored 83 points on March 10, 2026 against the Washington Wizards.
Conwell is notably Miami’s only addition in the NBA Draft, with their former 13th pick being used by the Milwaukee Bucks to select Tennessee’s Nate Ament. Their 41st pick was used by the Oklahoma City Thunder to select Kentucky guard Otega Oweh.
The Louisville guard will be a much-welcome addition to a Heat team that just traded several key young players to Milwaukee such as Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware. Miami will look to improve on its 43-39 record from last season, one in which they missed the playoffs.
Feature Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal
